


Homeward bound

by Dreamystory



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies), Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:13:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26667262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamystory/pseuds/Dreamystory
Summary: When all is lost, then all is found
Relationships: Axel (Kingdom Hearts)/Elsa (Disney)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 4





	1. 1

It was midday when the kingdom of Arendelle was in full swing as the sun warmed up the gentle autumn leaves that were lying on the ground after falling down their trees, with merchants traveling the streets with their horses (ponies,mighty shires 'n...stuff) and children running around the square, women chatting and laughing blissfully to the background of the fjord waves that surrounded the kingdom, marked by a majestic and imposing castle that could be seen from miles away even at night thanks to the bright colors applied in the last years of the monarchy, with columns made in intense blue ice created on purpose to make the castle more lively, lively as during the reign of Agnarr...it couldn't have been. Adding decoration was a nice touch given the wonderfully complex structure of the castle. A large rectangle of fortified walls with an open space inside that served as a hole to which there was the entrance to the castle of Arendelle ... or more than a castle, a huge confusion of rooms and corridors intertwined in a brain-breaking concoction for a common citizen. Still in the monarchy, the period from Agnarr's coronation to that of his eldest daughter had been a time of confusion and decay for Arendelle and its trading allies around the world ... The castle doors had been closed when the future Queen was just eight years old, and her younger sister was just five. The reason for this sudden closure, however, was confused to the whole city, and it was not reopened to the public even when the parents of the princesses died in a tragic ship accident: King Agnarr and his wife, Queen Iduna, had gone to boat for a trip that would last two weeks. Two weeks that had ended without the return of the monarchs. The boat had sunk, and there had been no survivors. At the age of forty-eight and forty-seven the rulers had been declared dead ... yet the bodies were never found.

How can you have a funeral without a body to cry on? without a body on which Princess Anna, the only one who had presented herself to the funeral ceremony without the comfort of her sister, could be mourning with her black clothes suitable for such a tragic event. Just _fifteen_ years old. Her sister Elsa, the eldest of the two daughters, had remained locked in her room. She had not placed a gloved finger on the handle, not even the shadow of a palm on the frozen door.

Nothing. In _thirteen_ years Elsa and Anna had rarely seen each other, but the reason for Elsa's isolation was clear when she nearly froze everyone in the room during her coronation party, when she turned twenty-one. But now? well, a frozen heart, a husband and brother-in-law later Elsa of Arendelle had proved herself a good ruler for the kingdom. Her husband, you may be wondering? Heh, a very rare King. Different from his predecessors, his father-in-law or his wife's grandfather. His name was Axel. _King_ Axel, got it memorized? He and Elsa were known to be a couple as rare as they were beautiful, precisely because they were opposites: she was cold and reserved, shy and silent. And he was loud, his laugh was thunderous and he was sooooo loving. He could be very clever in politics, but in a good way. Quite cunning especially with snooty missionaries and convinced that they can be superior to him and be able to charm him with false kind ways. Needless to say, he had learned to put them in their place with a simple glance, paving any coaxing. He was not only respected for this, but also for his public presence and for his past as an alleged soldier, war missionary or the like.

The King's origins were quite... _confused_.

Elsa had always been a landslide with speeches and things like that over the years, and it was only thanks to him that she got along harder with crowds now, speaking louder and speaking clearly exactly as he did. Nothing to say, except that the King and Queen of Arendelle formed a parallel with her parents, in an ironic way: The origins of Elsa and Anna's mother had never been clarified. All they knew was that she wasn't a noble or anything: she was an orphan who had been taken into the castle as aide to the chief servant, Kai, and that she and Agnarr had fallen in love when they were teenagers and ended up getting married. Elsa and Anna were born from the union: one with her platinum wax-colored hair, fair complexion and her austere but sweet face and the other with two brightly red cheeks, a nose studded with freckles sprinkled here and there, and hair colored strawberry blonde gathered in two messy braids. Axel had understood that they were sisters from the fact that they had the same eyes and the same small nose, with the only difference being the actual completeness of their delicate features.

The Queen of Arendelle drummed her fingers on the railing of the balcony, head tilted to one side and braid that fell on the right shoulder and eyes fixed on the sky: only a few clouds crossed the sky that autumn day, and the wind was still imperturbable . It blew from the north-west with an impetuosity that didn't bother, on the contrary, it was a breath of fresh air after the heat of that summer: it had been particularly hot that year, even by their standards. But the arrival of autumn was always something beautiful with its bright colors, but at the same time relaxing. Elsa crossed her fingers on the balcony, keeping an eye on the clock that stood in the center of the city waiting for a quarter past twelve, the appointed time when they would meet. Every morning they met in front of the balcony Elsa looked around, letting a sigh out of her nostrils "where is- **_AH_**!" and let out a squeal of surprise as two large but gentle hands encircled her waist and her back touched a chest she knew too well: her braid flew over her shoulder, and in that familiar grip Elsa relaxed recognizing the touch of Axel. In fact, shortly after, two delicate lips placed a kiss on her bare shoulder. A slow smile spread across the woman's face at that, slightly arching her eyebrow downeards "good evening to you."

Axel purred in response with a guttural sound, face in her hair braided with impeccable care. "It's morning, milady, not evening," he replied in his usual low, casual tone although he was able to change it to a low, loving shade just for her. The Queen chuckled, one hand resting on her chest "Axel, that was a saying." She said with a laugh in her voice, raising an arm to caress his face from the side, curling a lock of his flaming hair between her index finger: since he was King, his wild and untamed hair style he had kept until then had been styled in an elegant low ponytail, although some tufts still came out of that bond from time to time, it gave it something more Royal. As in this moment: rebellious tufts framed his face more, his beautiful face was what people noticed. Not the crown he wore on his head.

"how did the council go, with the dukes of Cantebria?" Axel placed a kiss on her head and took a seat next to her on the balcony "a breath of fresh air!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms to the sky and leaning against the perfectly polished iron railing, arms folded close to his chest "they brought a little life to that council mortorium." Leaning a hand on his hip in a very informal fashion and moving the edge of the royal suit in the process to make room for the hand clenched into a fist, the King waved his eyebrows "oh come on, these diplomats don't have a shred of wit, self-love and least of all a sense of humor. "

"that's not really nice to say..." She said. "Oh, come now" he answered, stretching his back by putting two hands on it and letting go of a groan, then cracking his knuckles and twirling his neck putting one gloved hand to the back of it "damn, what a stiff neck." the Queen rolled her eyes "language, Axel." every now and then it was inevitable that the King forgot to keep a sober and not exaggerated attitude as was his usual, and therefore some colorful epithet escaped him, and those made Kai and Gerda turn white, and sometimes Elsa herself. Terms that would have made even a truck driver blush. A slow, controlled chuckle left the King's lips, whose hand traveled to Elsa's waist bringing her closer and intertwining her fingers, placing a kiss on her neatly trimmed hair "I missed you."

 _Rules_? no, he hadn't missed those. He had missed her. She with her way of putting it back in line, she with her kind eyes.

He had missed his wife.

All in vain, she could try to look as stoic as possible ... but as soon as those hands touched her, the Queen of Arendelle felt her knees shake and her heart racing. "Did you miss me because we were _two hours_ apart?" he asked. "two hours? it seemed like _two million_ years!"

"you're a romantic." a sweet smile settled on her lips as he placed a kiss on her bare shoulder, left uncovered by the lilac dress she was wearing. And he stopped there, his head in the hollow of her chin and arms wrapped around her "Axel."

"hmm?" his purr vibrated down her back: he didn't have a particularly deep voice, but it could be extremely sensual despite being slightly hoarse, but nevertheless perfectly articulated. "Oh, sorry. Maybe I should say _Papa_." It took him a moment to realize. And when she realized, The King of Arendelle leaned out behind her and even though she couldn't see his face Elsa could clearly see his green eyes widening in surprise. The Queen chuckled, stroking the back of his hand when he asked a trembling "... what?" interspersed with a smile close to emotion. _Oh, Axel_ ... Rolling over on her heels, Elsa turned to him, and in the process his hands did not leave his wife's waist for a moment. If anything, they held even tighter to them, almost as if to make sure she would not break at any moment: Axel had always managed to surround her life even with one hand, but the security had now vanished and had been replaced by a tremor, a happy one.

Gently, Elsa let her hands slide along his chest, touching the red band that crossed the black velvet diagonally and arranging the different medals on it nonchalantly as she spoke "what do you say, let's start thinking of suitable names?" his mouth was open in pure amazement, his face fixed on a stockfish expression, eyes wide open and full of surprise.

oh Elsa, bold of you to assume that after giving an emotional man like him the news that he is about to become a father the future father in question will not remain inconsistent for the next 24 hours. Seriously, you suck at reading emotions.

"... A _Papa_?" Elsa nodded, a smile making way for the umpteenth time. He could hear laughter progressing as he finally saw the edges of Axel's mouth arch up " _Love!-HAHAH_!" The King let out an airy laugh, one hand on his chest and the other holding Elsa close to him. An uncontrollable pang of laughter gripped him, so loud that Elsa thought it was hysterical laughter ... but this was denied when, in the now free room, Axel spun, throwing his fists in the air with shouts of triumph. " _Axel_!" Elsa felt her cheeks inflame as she signaled him to lower his voice " _SHHH_!" The King turned and without hesitation marched towards her and took her by the hips "wha-" and lifted her into the air. As if she weighed nothing, how could he effortlessly lift it with those slender arms? They looked like two toothpicks ... oh well. Don't underestimate a man who can wield a sword bigger than himself without even batting an eye...She doubted that he would be able to lift her even in the following months, but for now he succeeded perfectly. When he set her down, with infinite delicacy, her bright eyes were shining with tears.

Tears that took little to fall ... seriously, they got off with absurd speed since he was laughing two seconds ago. The King of Arendelle dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around Elsa's waist, face pressed against the lower part of her torso, and she felt him lay a few light kisses on the surface of the dress. "I'm going to be a Papa..."

"C-come on, you'll make me cry too-" The words were interrupted by a laugh emerging from the Queen's chest, but it was mixed with a sob of joy as she ran her fingers through Axel's hair, caressing the base of them and curling the locks free from the grip of the low ponytail. In response, he pressed closer to her, his hand caressing her back as the tears fell and fell on the wood of the balcony. "D-darling..."

 _Oh_ , the _fragility_ he put into those nicknames. He often used very sweet and often incomprehensible nicknames, but using the classics? Oh, it meant pure emotion. And at this moment the King was practically an agglomeration of nerves of happiness clinging to her with all the love he had in his body, as if it were love that could make the world go round just by being next to her. and now next to the future king or queen of Arendelle. A happy wind blew on the balcony that day. A wind of renewal as the King and Queen held each other tightly under the sun.


	2. Chapter 2

"White Bear!"

"reindeer!"

"portal window!"

"it's not even a word!"

"And what do you know?"

Anna waved an arm above her head, a ferocious expression on her freckled face as her lips curled into a snarl, and from the open window a sound of crickets was the only one interspersed with the roaring seeds that the princess imitated. The result was his gentle face made even more clumsy, with movements that represented something destructive. The game of charades: the day when the competitiveness in the family skyrocketed in all possible and imaginable senses, especially considering the various personalities present in the family unit. The game was in the evening in the upstairs room, the one with paintings next to a fire and some candles to light up the cozy room. It was equipped with a large sofa where everyone sat to be comfortable while the challenge of guessing what the participant was miming ... and most of the time it was Anna who started it, and she certainly didn't go easy on it with theatrical and incomprehensible movements. Kristoff was leaning on the edge of the sofa, hands on his knees and his gaze fixed on his girlfriend. He would wiggle one knee repeatedly as he exclaimed things like "mountain! Sword! Fight!"

beside him, Axel watched intently and made observations no less calmly, indeed ... if anything even more competitive. Almost determined to beat his co-brother-in-law at all costs, give him 'directly his invincible trail of omniscience'

...

or

something similar, knowing Axel.

But damn it. Anna was damn good.

On Axel's knee, Olaf rocked back and forth even though he was firmly supported by the King's hand to avoid having to rebuild him on the spot after falling face down. "HANS!" he exclaimed.

The sword movement that Anna's arm had just imitated certainly left no doubt; in fact the princess looked at him, waving her hand in signal to continue with a look that meant 'go! you're almost there!'

sighs and insults of all kinds.

"irredeemable monster!"

"the biggest mistake in your life!"

"a perfect sucker!"

"who didn't even kiss you!"

Sven rang the bell that signaled the end of time with a series of firm ringing, and immediately any sign of defiance in everyone's eyes vanished. Elsa was the only one apparently calm, gentle and calm blue eyes. Her husband's green ones were kindled by the fire of determination, and with one hand he held his kneecap in a clawed grip, while with the other he tried not to hurt Olaf, Who sat calmly onto his other knee quite relaxed into the hold of a man who could manipulate fire and possibly burn him down.

Kristoff threw his arms in the air, letting them fall back into his lap shortly after "oh come on!" He exclaimed, chin to the ceiling in exasperation.

"Guys, it was so simple!" Anna exclaimed "villain!"

...seriously? so simple? While Kristoff, Elsa and Olaf let go of a chorus of agreement towards Anna, Axel just raised an eyebrow in her direction and planted his fists near the hips even though he was sitting. "how obvious are you, little sister in law..."

Axel and Anna had bonded immediately, and had come to have a very fraternal relationship, they often exchanged blunt jokes and pungent humor that they both knew perfectly well how to handle... she had been the same time before to comment on how Axel and his sister would have been a perfect royal couple. 

Well, the girl certainly had an eye for love affairs ... everyone's except hers ... as Kristoff had been trying to ask her to marry him for weeks and she hadn't noticed. As soon as he knelt down, she promptly distracted herself and left him there like a stockfish.

Definitely an attention deficit disorder, no doubt. But her hyperactivity and her curiosity to discover the world was the reason why Kristoff had fallen in love with Anna: but the princess had also been slow to understand that she had fallen in love with the mountaineer in the beginning ... but later a first kiss, the doubts had dissolved.

Well ... for Elsa and Axel it had gone much smoother. Without beating around the bush, the traveler and the queen had immediately felt alike. He liked to talk, but he also survived by going on with long silences. She was calmer and calmer, he was impulsive and wild : like two horses of different races: think of Elsa as a mare tamed in dressage since she was a filly, mane well combed and wrapped in braids, bows and tight but elegant hairstyles ... therefore posed, careful where to walk and graceful in every small or great it was. A light and dynamic gallop, delicate and very feminine. Delicate hooves,cleaned and polished until they become like mirrors, would barely grazed the sandy ground beneath her. And she would have reached the end of the race with composure, without even the shadow of a breath given the absence of adrenaline. She would have reached the line of any finish line without batting an eyelid, without exhilarating even a little since she had been trained not to show enthusiasm.

And now think of Axel as an untamed stallion. Unkempt mane, curled by the wind of a thousand strokes, and I speak of hopeless unkempt, and knotted. Fiery temperament, cunning, active and decidedly not very graceful in elegant movement like a controlled trot. His unbridled gallop, without limits, as if he wanted to run until his lungs could no longer hold up. Powerful hooves, furrowed but not ruined, would sink deep into the ground in great, broad strides with mighty thuds onto the sand that would leave a cloud of dust as high as hills behind. And at the end of the race he would be carried away by the unbridled adrenaline in his body, and he would continue to run even beyond the finish line, coming back with his muscles wet with pearly drops, hauntingly exhilarated eyes. 

It's the easiest way to put their differences into play. Elsa was a walking mare, Axel was a wild stallion.

and well ... opposites attract, right? This had definitely been the case with the present rulers. 

Anna turned a tongue at him "I'll take you down like a Swedish piece of furniture if you don't shut up!" She threatened pointing a finger at him, which Axel promptly lowered taking it between index and thumb, giving it a friendly shake and lowering it back on the sofa. "HAH! You and what strength?"

and the fist on the arm signaled him not to go any further, although that blow had activated a combo reaction somewhere between swagger and serial prod. and it was with a raised eyebrow that Axel surprisingly proclaimed "woah! Aunt Anna will have to take it easy on us, right?" he said raising his hands in surrender just when Anna was ready to give him another punch on the arm "yeah? well old folks, then-" but then realization made its way onto his freckled face and a proverbial "huh ?!" it escaped from her mouth accompanied by a codfish expression.

... why did Axel have the obsession to say things nonchalantly?

Just like when he had asked Elsa to marry him: he suddenly knelt down and at the beginning of "Elsa, will you marry me?" the Queen was already amazed at his overwhelming spontaneity. And he had announced to her sister-in-law with equal spontaneity that she was going to be aunt.

He just...couldn't help it. Okay? 

And he was having a great time seeing Anna's expression; tabula rasa, that's what it shouted. As if suddenly all the neurons animating her brain had stopped simultaneously ... like in a black out and she kept her eyes fixed on her sister.

oh gee, post shock eye contact ...

Kristoff had the exact same expression, but turned towards Axel.

So...uh, a normal person would have started to worry ... but it seems to me that I have already exasperated how the King of Arendelle was not a normal person, and therefore he wrapped his hands around his hips in a big laugh that shook him from shoulder to torso. And unfortunately for Elsa, she too found herself giggling with a hand over her mouth ... Axel had always had a contagious laugh, but now more than ever the faces of Kristoff and his sister were absolutely priceless.

Olaf was swinging his gaze between the men and women in the room, obviously not understanding any of this. He only knew that Axel was laughing like crazy and that the other two of them looked surprised.

"surprise."

three two one...

"ARE YOU SERIOUS ?!"

that sudden exclamation from Anna was so acute that she could easily have gone to ultrasounds ... indeed, it was strange that the dogs around did not start barking. The fact is that no one had time to react, much less the future parents. Axel and Elsa in fact found themselves tightened in a lethal grip of tearful and awkward embrace, but which left to see every conceivable emotion possible, a mouth that babbled things like "FOR REAL ?! FOR REAL ?! OH MY GOSH!"

"Anna! Can't-breathe!"

"Oh! Sorry!" She left them immediately without saying a word, she just rushed to embrace her sister and the power of his affection was such as to make Elsa stagger a little, but being used to the impetuous affection of Anna The Queen returned the embrace with equal strength and a hearty laugh. 

WHACK!

a friendly blow from a sturdy hand almost brought the King down; obviously Kristoff also wanted to show that he was happy to be an uncle. "congratulations brother!" 

Axel's co-brother-in-law had informal ways just like his own, with the only difference being slightly less a sophisticated dork. He was ... a dork highlander. Nonetheless, the affinity had been immediate. With a firm hand on Axel's shoulder, Kristoff gave him another friendly shake, Immediately after hugging her sister, Anna rushed to her brother-in-law and wrapped his tiny waist in a lethal hug for anyone else, but a perfectly normal one for that family. "since you are my nephew or niece's father, if Kristoff tries to kill you, I'll take deal with him. "

Completely off the subject, but in any case, a protective aunt instinct had always been in Anna. Now she would just have a chance to… well, put into action all the love an aunt can feel. Kristoff raised his hands in surrender when Anna pointed a finger at him as if to say 'I'm keeping an eye on you.'

" 's ok,Anna" Axel answered in a very casual way, bouncing his shoulders in the process. "I'm a tough nut to crack, it'll take a lot more than a pat to kill me."

oh, there was no doubt about that. After a lifetime of fighting, not having a tough skull would have been impossible.

aaah-aaah.

Huh ..?

A voice ... well, more than a voice a vocalization made the Queen of Arendelle estranged in the space of a full second. Anna had broken away from the embrace with Axel, and now the latter was practically bombarded with confused questions from Olaf.

Now there was just her, a lost look and a labored breathing caused by her heart pounding.

What had it been?

It was like a call ... Elsa looked around, but no one seemed to have heard anything but her. Not even Sven or Olaf.

Nobody.

As if that voice were addressed directly to her ...

as if- HUH?

A hand fell on her shoulder and Anna's kind eyes smiled at her in her "hey! Are you up for a second round?"

But the Queen shook her head "I think I'll go to sleep." she replied, giving her little sister a kind smile before heading for the door.

Axel immediately turned his attention to her "everything okay, honey?" placing a hand on her hip as she passed him. "I'm fine, really. I'm just ... tired."

"Well, heya 'just tired'. I'm dad, and I suggest we all go and rest for a while." he suggested, turning to the others as he stroked her back. He was always so gentle with her, as if those hands couldn't throw swords and catch them as if nothing had happened.

With a yawn Sven pulled himself up and Olaf got onto his back "Good idea! So much Sven has to tell me a story tonight!" he said lying down against the thick back of the reindeer "you should see how funny it is when he imitates Kristoff!"

ordinary family business, better not ask questions.

Kristoff ran a hand through his hair, exchanging a look with Axel and patting the pocket of his nightgown, raising his eyebrows and clearing his throat very slowly. At first the King of Arendelle, who in the meantime had held out an arm to his wife, did not understand and mimed an 'eh?' with her lips while Anna was busy keeping the fire burning.

Kristoff snapped his eyes to his younger sister, tilting his head in the same direction with pursed lips and tapping his forefinger on the pocket again.

The King's eyes widened when he realized that Kristoff was asking for some privacy, signaling that he wanted to make the proposal. "Uh, come on dear. Let's go to our room, what do you think?"

"well ... that was what-"

"perfect! Now let's go, my beloved!" he exclaimed "goodnight little sister-in-law, goodnight KrisKris! Don't let the bugs bite you!" Anna moved her wrist in a dismissive move and sent them both a quick kiss "night night, lovebirds! Auntie Anna loves you!" and Axel closed the door behind them: the bedroom of the monarchs was not far from that of the charades, so a few steps and they would arrive.  
"Kristoff was trying to ask her for her hand in marriage again, wasn't he?" Elsa commented when Axel opened the door to let her in first, the King chuckled "how much formality! We two didn't make it that long!" he said giving her a kiss on the hand. Elsa closed the door and then sat down in the room, huffing a little bit and letting her head fall back.  
"Hun,are you sure you're really OK?"  
when she looked up, Axel's eyes were filled with genuine concern that warmed her heart "I'm sure." he said nodding, proceeding to get under the covers "It's been a long day, isn't it?" she said making room for him on the right side of the bed, watching him lie down "yeah, it was perhaps one of the looongest." his hands went up along the covers when she turned away from him, her back pressed against his chest "but you know what? it's worth it when I see you in the evening."  
A nice way to make her blush like a fifteen year old, in short, and not like a married woman, queen and future mother.  
"you are a romantic, you know?"  
she felt him lift one shoulder nonchalantly, and then his chin rested on his shoulder, his nose buried in the hollow of Elsa's neck. she purred, as if to reciprocate every time it was he who expressed himself like this.  
Heheh, it's your turn to blush like a 15-year-old now!  
And damn it worked, his whole face started burning up, and She could feel the heat from her shoulder.   
"ooh, and what was that?" his voice was hoarse and low, pleasantly low.  
God, she would have passed out if his voice had been even lower than that. Which was strange, because while it was warm enough and masculine enough, every time it dropped a few octaves ...  
Needless to say it was the only way to get anyone into cardiac arrest.  
She knew it had worked on her, maybe not exactly the cardiac arrest part… but more or less. The first time she'd heard it, she'd turned so red that she thought she'd had an internal burn or something.  
The man was hotter than a will-o'-the-wisp.  
"just Mama showing Papa how much she appreciates him." Not nearly as husky as his, but actually pretty smooth for female standards.  
and that was enough to send him in jujube broth.  
completely.  
A slow chuckle sounded on her back, and Axel's hand touched her chin softly "well, Papa thinks Mama is lovely."  
it could continue for a while.  
"Mama thinks Papa is wonderful." and yawned.  
"Well now Papa thinks Mama needs to sleep."  
how to blame him?  
and so, snuggling her face into his chest, Elsa fell asleep like a stone.


	3. 3

"aaaah aaaah."

Be quiet 

"Aaah aaah."

damn, stop it.

"Aaaah Aaaaah."

Ugh! 

in the most complete silence of the night and of half sleepiness, the Queen of Arendelle found herself opening her eyes wide in the darkness of the room with a snap of her eyelids with very long lashes and staring at the ceiling for ten minutes straight-up, almost sending mind the lines of the curved oak wood, almost being able to see the instant it was knocked down. Queen of arendelle? Hm, Drama Queen suits you best. You know? definitely. With a slow head movement he looked around the room once his eyes were one hundred percent accustomed to the darkness surrounding the room. To his right, Axel's sleeping face whose eyeliner was now flaked and smudged around his eyes. Its perfect wing was barely hinted at, and its hair was more like a mane. And how did she still look so flawless without even taking off her make-up before going to sleep? For very obvious time issues it's not easy to take off your make-up when you and your husband are practically competing for bathroom supremacy, complete with quick clicks for the door and getting in the way of each other with gift-worthy tricks of an elementary school child. She was small, sure, but she was fast and could be able to beat him in better ways. But in strategy with him it was whuppin 'incoming' ... what was there to see from one who grew up fighting against one who grew up in isolation? Certainly the latter has not developed any sense of strategy. In short, as already said and reiterated: Runeard would have died of electrocution if instead of Kai and Gerda he had heard his great-son let slip one of those rather ... er ... colorful curses. Of course, when there was to be composed it did not fail to be. But it was Elsa who had to bring him back to attention sometimes: but she knew she was doing her best to get used to some protocols, and she appreciated it. Aaaaah aaaaaah. Internal monologue, why do you have to bother? Aaaah-Aaaaah ... oh, now she would show it who was in charge around here. With a determined frown she placed her hands on the bed ready to use them as a lever to get up. Only to realize she was anchored to the bed by her waist, held back by something that was completely limp and dead weight on her. And a snore from beside her immediately revealed who was pinning her there. The answer came by climbing up to the owner of the arm one more time, asleep like a madman on the pillows and snoring not too loud, quite composed indeed. The Queen fell back: Axel's hand was wrapped around her side lovingly, therefore her arm was placed in the front of her waist: although she was a little more slack than when he was holding her seriously, she was however a hold strong enough not to let it slip away. Oh, be quiet for a moment! The queen is trying to disengage ... there is no longer any respect for those trapped in a lovable grasp of the person you love most in the world. Aaaaah Aaaaah. now you're doing it on purpose. Elsa's gaze shifted back to her King: they were practically nose to nose, and certainly there was not the slightest way to escape from this decidedly not very tactical position ... and of course she stopped to observe him for a while '. Oh, just five minutes ... five minutes that turned into hours in no time every time she laid eyes on him and his soft yet clean features, the curve of his nose, the shape of his lips and those very light and almost invisible freckles on his cheeks. How can a man be so handsome? If that child had inherited everything from him, Elsa wouldn't have minded at all. From the eyes to the hair, to the smile ... God, it would have been the most beautiful child in the world. If it had been a boy, surely it would have been beautiful exactly like his father: all the girls would have fallen for him like cooked pears. And in case they had a daughter ... well ... good luck to her future boyfriends. Because the jealous dad syndrome would hit him right at the first sign of his daughter's interest in a boy. Dad of the princess and King of Arendelle, a man with a past as a fighter and badass to beyond belief. Boyfriends, let's see if you can live up to it. Elsa was convinced that if Agnarr had lived to meet Axel, he would certainly have given him the same treatment: a jealous father but with a touch of passive aggression towards his daughter's boyfriend now husband and father of her child. Aaaaah Aaaaaah. can't a woman even admire the eye balm that is the man she married? Oh, that voice could sing even to exhaustion. The Queen of Arendelle snorted from her nostrils, retreating into the blankets and pressing her face into the hollow of her husband's neck, frowning and holding on to him. Her human shield. Aaaaah Aaaaaah Axel let go of a sleepy grunt, which evolved into a slow nose-blowing breath and a slight frown as Elsa had positioned herself there very firmly. apparently yet to be properly...er...edited. Elsa reached out to Axel's shoulder once she stood up again, and gave him a little shake "Axel." "mmmmrrr ..." all that came to her was a sleepy grunt. Damn, she would have expected more reactivity from him: the Queen pouted at him, giving him a stronger jolt "pssst, Axel!". Nothing at all. This man was an incredibly heavy sleeper, not even a tank would wake him ... a whirlwind, a hurricane, a war. Nothing at all could wake him up. "Axel!" Aaaaah Aaaaaah I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to my husband! mind your own business! that's enough. With a sharp movement Elsa removed her husband's hand from her waist and moving her legs from one side of the bed took her mother's shawl and walked out of the room slowly closing the door behind her so as not to wake Axel. He could sleep, she wanted to get to the bottom of this story. The Queen whipped her head back to look around in a mixture of annoyed and angry, but most of all afraid. "I hear you! Okay? I can hear you loud and clear!" she said, turning to whoever was talking to her "but I'm not going to hear a word, vocalize or anyone!" and she made a large downward movement with his hands to indicate a single and decisive gesture: stop.   
The corridor was barely lit with any light here and there, the soft carpets smelled of the wool and wood floor below, it was a stun but pleasant scent. She had grown up there, how could she not love that castle? and with a dismissive gesture of the hand she sent her long platinum blonde braid from shoulder to back in a brazen gesture, all while maintaining a walking pace and an austere and haughty gaze "... I wouldn't follow you in any case, so don't try not even. "  
What held her back were her loved ones. Leave her family to chase a stupid rumor? No thanks. Absolutely not. She would not let herself be captured by that call, now or ever. Anyone who might be calling her, she didn't care in the slightest… not a bit. Her steps led her to a slew of paintings placed in front of the window overlooking Lake Arendelle, now quiet under the bewitching northern lights shining in the dark sky: there was not the shadow of a star scratched across the majestic narrow coves and mighty, who guarded the kingdom. Those lights were reflected on the canvas of the paintings: the first represented only her parents and her sister as children, perhaps just engaged. The first portrait with her as a child followed, immediately after her three years old and Anna being just born, followed immediately after her, her sister, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf. The next was that of marriage, therefore she and Axel. And last but not least all of them together trying to look as Royal as possible, although Anna's kind face conveyed a more peasant air, a little more like a girl next door rather than a princess.   
Anna? Oh, she had always been so simple and easy going. A very very active child, but not disobedient. A foolish girl, but with a heart of pure gold ... and she'd been willing to give it to too many to see it brutally broken. (Hans was a prime example, Kristoff swore he would punch him on the nose hard enough to break it if he ever saw him near Arendelle and Axel would burn him alive soon after.) But there was no risk, because Hans had been locked up in the cells of the southern islands until further notice, and above all kept in check by his twelve brothers. Elsa smiled looking at the paintings. No, this was her home. Her place in the world, her little corner of paradise. She had already had her adventure, she didn't need anything else. yet ... yet her hand moved involuntarily towards the handle of the window that led to the balcony and a gust of cold air hit her full face, tickling her cheeks and chest through the v-neckline of her nightgown. .. the lake was calm, the lights of the houses turned off. The peaceful air ... It was all you could want if not more ...   
"Aaaah Aaaaah"  
The voice echoed more insistently, and listening to Elsa she could make out its tone.   
It wasn't silly, iy wasn't angry ... It was ... It was a low-pitched murmur like he was singing in her direction, like It was telling her to sing along with it. As if it were pulling her to it by an invisible thread around her heart ... as if there was an invisible connection. Elsa turned her back on the fjord, returning to the warmth of the castle only briefly. Lifting the hem of her night skirt holding them tightly in her hands, Elsa walked down the stone steps that led closer to the clear lake water ... it was a magical place, as if it had the power to clear the mind . Holding her hands clasped to her chest, Elsa looked around raising her nose to the night sky ... midnight must have been past midnight for a while, but there was no sign of the moon in the sky. Not even a reflection. "... are you here to distract me by chance?" It was the most plausible explanation. Her voice echoed in the open space, much less resonant than when she was inside the castle ... Yet the message came loud and clear. But this time there was no response. The Queen walked slowly to the edge of the bank, advancing until her reflection looked back at her with the same shared expression. What if that voice had another message? Another meaning? Was it trying to tell her something? to take her somewhere?   
But what? Where is it? Was it telling her that this wasn't her place? and ... and maybe it knew because they were the same, the two of them? Maybe whatever was calling her back was trying to show her beyond her nose.  
But what?   
“where are you taking me?” No answer. Well. Of course not. Not even the voice called. There was just that wall of glittered magic now. Her magic had created this. For the first time in her life, Elsa of Arendelle charged head down towards that wall closing her eyes and holding her breath so as not to cough it all... But when her blue eyes lifted to the surroundings a breath left her mouth: the spirals of magic had created a vision of a forest. The trees were slender and tall, autumn leaves were lost in the air followed by trails of atoms of snowflakes ... but time to reach out and it was all gone in her hands. It was a succession of figures: a herd of reindeer ran to meet her. and then the vision of two children: a boy and a girl chasing each other, she hovered in the air shortly after, carried away by the wind ... a whirlwind of emotion overwhelmed her. Who was tgat? Was it out there? Did it know her? The images were confused, but they were intense moments followed by his calling and Elsa's replies. Was there a reason that voice was calling her to it ... did it want to show her what was beyond Arendelle?   
Just a way to find out.   
A large movement of her hands was all that was needed. 

••••••

Axel's sleep was interrupted very abruptly. The King of Arendelle was sleeping happily on the pillows when an urgent and frantic knock made him literally jump into the air ... directly on the ground let's say.   
"AXEL!!! AXEL, OPEN THE DOOR!"  
... Anna? Why was Anna at their door? With a sleepy grunt the King pulled himself up from the covers rubbing one eye and tying the lace of his robe around his waist with a sharp movement and sitting on the edge of the bed, ready to reach out to wake Elsa. ... Here. The unknown of that equation had magically slipped from the bed, and he realized this when his hand touched the duvet instead of his wife's shoulder. The King's head whipped back towards the bed: the sheets were wrinkled, a sign that he had slept there ... but there was no trace of Elsa.  
"AXEL!"   
"I'm coming,i hear ya! Damn, stop shouting!" and with hasty steps he set out to open the door. His sister-in-law seemed to have been hit by a bus in the passage of the corridor so much she was disheveled and fatigued by an alleged race from just awake. The King's face also couldn't have been better, because as soon as they both saw each other there was a start followed by a cry of dismay as they looked at each other's condition. Anna jumped back, Axel just rocked his head back: but the cry, albeit short, had had its place in the sun. "HOLY GOD, WHY WON'T YOU REMOVE YOUR MAKEUP BEFORE GOING TO SLEEP?!" she screamed: she was in an absurd position. Her left leg was raised up to her chest, hands placed in defense and torso tilted to the left. "SERIOUSLY, YOU LOOK LIKE A ZOMBIE!" Anna seemed like a book person at times.   
The King leaned against the doorjamb, he seemed moments away from falling face down on the smooth wooden floor. "I don't usually expect guests at this hour." he muttered in a hoarse voice "... you know that waking people up in the middle of the night to the sound of punching the door is really-"  
"where's Elsa?!"  
Yeah, where IS Elsa?   
"I saw the empty bed and I thought she had gone to you." And the King's green eyes widened, now fully awake "... she's not with you?" of course not, half-wit. Do you see them together by chance?!  
"I looked out the window and ... and crystals! crystals everywhere in the air! then ... then they fell and a huge spiral appeared in the sky! it looked like a snowflake but then big," she rattled off one sentence after the other at the speed of light "and Kristoff was asleep so I came to you because I thought Elsa knew something but then she's not here and-" No, No ... way too much to memorize when he woke up, his neurons screamed desperately in his brain to shut her up. If Elsa wasn't there, it meant she had gone away, and if she wasn't coming back...She could be in trouble. It was precisely in those moments, the least expected moments, that the King in him made a move to fulfill his duty, what he swore in that chapel years ago: to protect Arendelle and his family at any cost. He straightened up to his full height and went out the door "go wake Kristoff, I'll take care of the servants: headquarters, the square down in the building in front of the fountains. Move!" said and done, because in less than ten minutes they were all gathered down at the exact moment in which the water of the fountains and of the waterfall was sucked in on itself, vanishing completely. Kai and Gerda, in charge of the servants, themselves struggled to keep calm. The butler was constantly addressing Axel "Your Majesty, what should we do?" Axel had one hand under his chin, the other hooked under his arm. He looked at Kai and took a breath "just wait a moment, Kai ..."

One moment. Sure.

A moment that barely passed a ...breeze ... what do I say, it was a damn hurricane. Anna's braids whipped in the wind as Princess and King tried to shield themselves from the sticks, leaves and branches that the wind carried violently. "we have to evacuate! now!"   
You don't say? I would never have gotten there alone! thanks for finding the obvious! The new meeting place would have been towards the cliffs overlooking Arendelle, rocky and elevated and potentially dangerous heights ... it's make or break, it was the only salvation from that concatenation of such violent forces of nature. "Follow me! We must reach the cliffs, all of us!"  
•••  
What's better than being abruptly awakened by Mother Nature's sudden awakening in the middle of the night and worrying for a full hour as your wife is nowhere to be seen? Oh, nothing: it's the same level of peace of mind as when you're three thousand kilometers from home and you remember that you may have forgotten the hair straightener plugged into the socket. You know, something for all days. ... Yes, yes. Sarcasm again. Any problem with that? I have a right to be sarcastic. About an hour after the environmental disaster, the people of Arendelle were more tense than ever ... even more tense than the perennial winter caused by the Queen herself ... even more tense than the storm that followed. Mothers paced back and forth, Kai and Gerda talking to Oaken while Kristoff and Sven were busy distributing blankets to those in need. Anna was asking if anyone had seen Elsa, and although Axel had wanted to join his wife's research with all his heart, he was literally overwhelmed by people, who were definitely pestering him with questions. It was more than understandable that they had him as a point of reference with all the other busy.   
"King Axel, what was that?!"   
"Will Arendelle be destroyed?"  
"Your Majesty, what will become of the kingdom?" and they were all clustered around his figure, looking up at him with frightened eyes and hands clenched and frozen from the sudden cold. Axel held his hands out in front of him in front of the many, too many questions all at once "stay calm, please" he said trying to keep a calming tone "for now we will stay here, until everything cools down." Yeah. Right.

"and our things?" began a woman with two terrified eyes "they stayed in the houses! How will we do now?"

more confused murmurs spread through the small crowd, but the King was quick to placate them "We will send the security guards to retrieve your things, but for now it is more important that you stay here until further notice."

Well, he was managing even in Elsa's absence.

Speaking of the devil ... finally after searching, he spotted a blonde head in the crowd. The queen looked around, and when their eyes met Axel felt the urge to run to meet her "Lord Kristoff, Kai and Gerda will provide you with everything you need for the night. For anything, don't hesitate to come to me or the Queen. Excuse me." see? smooth as oil. Pat yourself on the back, boy.

Elsa's heels were silenced on all that moss as she slinged to hold his chest in an embrace, he wrapped his arms around her, cracking forward to be able to hug her better "Elsa! Where the hell were you ?! I was worried to death ! " his tone was harsh with worry, a hoarse but sincere concern as his fingers ran frantically through her hair. He broke away from the embrace to take her head in his hands and examine if she was not injured   
"Are you okay?Nothing broken? do you need to lie down for a moment? You look pale..." Her hand reached his in a tender squeeze "I'm fine, don't worry. We're both fine."

he knew who she meant by 'we'.

But it was that plural that made the King's muscles loosen in full relief as he leaned over to rest his forehead on her shoulder wrapping her hips with his arms "are you okay?"

"I'm trying to calm the tachycardia, thanks for your concern."

Elsa sighed against his chest "Axel, we're all fine."

"never try to scare me like that again, okay?" he commanded: He'd been in for a little shock that night, in fact. A natural catastrophe like that and his wife, the love of his life, the center of his universe, the reason for his existence, nowhere to be seen?

One word, terror. It was a miracle he hadn't already freaked out before. He had always been a very brave man, though sometimes the so-called courage almost resented being too reckless. Nothing seemed to scare him ... but his wife in danger? it was enough to make his heart stop in one shot or alternatively to trigger an adrenaline so powerful that he could kill a bear with his bare hands. "I'm sorry." her hands found their way through her husband's hair, gently stroking her untidy low ponytail, ruffled by the wind ... yet her braid was still perfectly intact.

How? Just how?  
The night was still young ... but not to party, to discuss what to do as adults.


	4. 4

"a voice?"

"... Yeah?"

"let us understand, were you hearing a voice?"

"....Yes.."

Elsa looked down at the inquisitive looks of Kristoff, Anna and Axel concentrated in one and only mass of confused expressions with different body language. Kristoff was thinking, so he had a fairly rigid body language: folded arms and straight back with a look away. Anna tried to understand better by using calm words, therefore a soft and cautious language. Axel was a more ... er ... insistent inquisitor at that moment: therefore body tilted forward and fists practically sunken in the hips. and then Elsa: curved spine and hands fixed under her arms, lowered eyelashes and gaze directed at a particular tuft of grass. "And can this voice have anything to do with Mother Nature's fury?" Anna asked this with sweeping hand movements, with so much emphasis that Elsa thought she might have hit Kristoff in the face.

Honestly?

Yeah.

The voice in the first place, but secondly she knew that the call had to do with the 'fury of the elements'. She had known from the first moment that the voice was not malicious ... it was like a sweet call, a murmur that at first frightened her ... but then embraced her with all its warmth. It reminded her of her mother's hugs in a way, just like the scarf she put on her shoulders whenever she was nervous.

Before leaving, Iduna had left that scarf to her daughters, hoping it would comfort them during her period of absence ... which unfortunately had extended from two weeks to eternity given the premature death of her and her husband. "Whenever you're sad, wrap this scarf around you, and imagine that I'm hugging you, and I'll be there with you." Iduna had been wrapped in that scarf at birth, and Elsa kept it to wrap her own baby in it as well. It would have been a nice way to continue the tradition. But for Arendelle to be a safe place for their son or daughter, it was necessary to see the end of that and understand what was happening. "I didn't want to worry you."

Axel poked the bridge of his nose with a long breath, shoulders tense. "Elsa." she said in a low tone, almost in a reproachful tone, "I'm your husband, my concern is seeing you in danger. This is a danger!" Anna nodded, echoing him. Tu quoque, Anna, soror mea. "Axel is right, Elsa what-"

"I have awakened the spirits of the enchanted forest." she answered, waving her gaze between her sister and her husband. And at that moment, when Kristoff had walked away for a second to talk to Gerda, the two exchanged a stunned look and then returned to look at her.

Ok...

Anna's turquoise eyes looked at her even more astonished, and her mouth moved before the expression of astonishment could fully reach her gaze. "okay, that's definitely not what I expected you to say ..." although it wasn't clear what she was expecting to hear, Elsa just shrugged her shoulders, twisting her mouth into a grim smile and then continuing to look down when his sister took a pause for reflection ".... wait. The enchanted forest? The one Father warned us about?"

"... Yes."

A second of silence, before Axel's voice stepped in after a good minute of watching his wife and sister-in-law pm the bounce, a shake of his bushy head and a show of hands in front of him "Woah woah woah woah, hold up! " he exclaimed, shaking her head in the process and stepping between the two sisters to try to understand "Enchanted forest? what are you talking about?" 

"It's a ... a place our Father warned us about long ago." Anna answered, being that Elsa was too busy thinking deeply. The Queen of Arendelle put a hand to her chest, fiddling with the end of her braid, caressing her locks tight in an elegant grip. 

"That much I've gathered, what I meant is: what does all this have to do with Arendelle?" his voice was low, he was trying to keep it sober especially at that time of night "well, these spirits are angry with ... with Elsa? with us? with whom?" and that, gentlemen, was the mystery.

A dense and unsolved mystery dating back to the time of the death of King Runeard, the grandfather of the two sisters and father of their father.

Anna brought a fist to her mouth, tightened with a few and then took a breath looking at him "When our grandfather was still in regency he tried to forge an alliance with this people: the Northultra ... they were a people who took advantage of magic. But that day, their leader and our grandfather died in a clash between the two peoples ... our father barely survived ... and an impassive mist has fallen on the forest ever since ... or so we have been told. " She had kept her head down throughout the narrative, pacing back and forth between her sister and brother-in-law as if she were thinking. Axel's green eyes followed her closely, now with folded arms "a war between two peoples? Whew ... bad business."

"to date we don't know who started the fight, we only know that. Our father didn't even know who had saved him. He only knew that he had heard a ... voice." their eyes lit up as they turned to an Elsa still looking at the ground, biting her lip. The Queen looked up "there is a correlation maybe ..." 

Axel fiddled with his wedding ring absently "it destroyed the kingdom, how can you say this isn't evil?"

Elsa sighed softly, gently taking his hands in hers "I know ... I know. But if there is any possibility that this voice could somehow have something to do with the elements it is worth trying ..." Anna she hugged her arms and stifled a sigh, concealed by a puff directed to her bangs strawberry blonde to get them out of her eyes, Axel just bit his lower lip and muttered something under his breath ...

his lips parted to say something, but at the same moment the earth shook. 

An earthquake? Another? oh, come on!

Wasn't the tiles that rose from under them in the escape enough?

Mother nature, seriously? Anna sought support from a rock to keep from falling, looking around. Elsa just had time to grab Axel's hand just to give herself stability, then observing or surrounding in turn "and now what?" was the King's exclamation (with words, to tell the truth, a little more colorful which I will not repeat because they are not suitable for the context) as he saw rocks falling rapidly down the side of the cliff.

Here, a normal people would have completely gone crazy, indulging in an absolutely chaotic collective hysteria and would never have gotten anywhere ... but Arendelle? Nah, the Arendellians were tough: a magical queen has the virtue of anesthetizing you for other magical events along the same lines.

Trolls included.

Axel remembered very well the first time that Elsa had brought him to meet the trolls who lived in the valleys surrounding the kingdom: it was just before the two lovers got married, and Elsa had taken a day to show him the surroundings of Arendelle and while they were there he had thought of introducing him to the Trolls ... Granpabbie had managed to greet the future King of Arendelle as if he had been in front of Agnarr, or rather he had treated him with great respect even calling him "your majesty" and Axel, flattered though he was, had said he wasn't King yet and that only Axel was okay. He had immediately stiffened as soon as the trolls appeared in front of him, and you could see that he was refraining from taking a step back. But slowly he realized that they were peaceful creatures he could trust, although their stone faces were somewhat surreal to observe for too long. Kristoff had been raised by two of them; Cliff and Bulda, who had taken him with them as their son along with Sven ... and if they had raised a man like him, then they really had to be trusted. On the other hand, it was they who warned Agnarr and Iduna that they had to help Elsa wield her powers ... advice that the two former rulers had completely misunderstood as "let's lock her in a room until she learns how to manage them." ... for heaven's sake, Axel had a lot of respect for his in-laws by now deceased although he had not known them, but objectively they had had some shortcomings as parents who had not been recently. That doesn't mean they didn't love their daughters, heck....they loved her more than life itself. But by loving them so much, in order to protect them they ended up hurting them by keeping them apart.

If there was one thing that Axel and Elsa had promised themselves, there was a good chance that their child might have magical abilities themselves, (with a father who can command fire, a mother who can create ice and snow. ..ptf, inevitable.) they would teach them everything they would need to help them manage any power.

"Pabbie!"

the eldest troll of the tribe, as well as the chief of it, rolled right on the rock where Anna was leaning which led her to dodge in order not to get hurt. His long cloak of moss fell to the rock behind him: his mane unrolled immediately. It wasn't exactly a mane, but it was what made him stand out among the other trolls and what highlighted his position as leader. The Sovereigns and the Princess approached him. Pabbie had the ability to appear in times of need in a timely manner, thank goodness. "well, never a dull moment with this family." he commented with a slight shrug.

Could he be blamed?

No. It was a rhetorical question.

"I hope you are prepared for what you have done Elsa: the fury of the spirits is not for the faint of heart." Axel's grip on Elsa's hand dissolved, and she felt his arm wrap around her waist as if doing so could protect them both. "why are they still angry?" Anna took a step forward "What does this have to do with Arendelle?" The old troll did not hesitate even for a moment "let's see what I see." and with a movement of the hands, from the dark sky of the night the people of Arendelle saw the Northern Lights appear, obscuring the light of the faint stars now visible once the lights inside the city were eliminated. They twirled a bit before finally taking shape ... it was ...

a bridge?

A dam?

No clue...

"the past is not what it seems."

but it certainly was a towering structure.

"a wrong must be redressed."

The monarchs and the princess, now completely captivated by this light show, had eyes only for the story that was unfolding in front of them with the only help of the play of light. Elsa took a step forward and, by now having let her guard down, Axel just held her hand without taking his eyes off the sky.

Two figures were formed: both in red, a sword collided with a spear ... but by the time of the clash and they had already dissolved into two individuals who made a handshake "Arendelle is not safe. The truth ... it must be found. Without it ... "

the lights went out as the old troll looked away, lowering his stubby stone hands and staring at a fixed point as if he had just come out of a trance.

"I see no future."

No future ...

this made the skin crawl. How can you not see a future?

Was Arendelle about to be razed to the ground? Would he take them all out with one shot?

No future for Arendelle or for the people?

Not exactly clear, too enigmatic. I would not recommend it.

Axel untied his hair, tying it back quickly and in a rather messy way "so? What do you recommend?" he asked, green eyes fixed on the troll's dark ones.

"When you see no future, all you can do is do the next right thing." abstract meaning. ABSTRACT. Speak clearly! Elsa let go of her husband's hand to take a few slow steps, hand over her braid and stare at the ground "the next right thing ... for me is to go to the forest and find that voice. Kristoff, lend me your wagon and Sven? "

the one called into question, or the reindeer (and who else, otherwise?) raised his head from the tuft of grass he was chewing with an 'mmrr?' confused, followed by a bewildered expression from Kristoff himself "I'm not very comfortable with the idea." Axel blinked in Elsa's direction, then looked at her accusingly "no way! You're not going out there completely alone!" his green eyes and worried but stern expression left no doubt: one distant day, with a potential teenage rebellion, he would have no problem using a firmer hand to put the kid back in line in no time at all. "Axel, that's the right thing to do. You'll be safe here." but the King raised a hand to interrupt her in mid-speech "oh no, don't even try." he intimated "I won't let you put yourself in danger like this, you don't know what's down there!"

"I have my powers protecting me, I'll be fine."

It wasn't that Axel doubted her or her strength, but it was the fact that now he was protecting not only her ... but that little unborn life as well. How could he not be protective? Even before that baby was born, keeping his wife and baby safe had become his only priority.

Since when? From that morning until eternity.

"you shouldn't force yourself and you know it!" he said, waving a hand in front of him "No. Absolutely not."

yes, now he was definitely giving in under some nerve breakdown that had accumulated during the day and he rubbed the bridge of his nose almost as if he were trying to calm a migraine. "we'll send a missionary,end of discussion. Please. "

Anna interjected "Axel, maybe if we all went with her we could protect her ourselves." she suggested, placing a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him down. "too risky..."

damn, seeing Axel so tense and worried was really scary. He who always had this relaxed and indifferent attitude, who was now racking his brains to find a practical and safe solution.

"send Olaf? no ... they would tear him apart ... ugh, what to do ..." 

"I'll tell you what."

Anna grabbed his arm and suddenly yanked him until he took him to sit down "you sit down, you calm down and you listen to us before you go completely puzzling yourself over it."  
"Look,Ann-" she pointed a finger on his nose and stabbed it a couple of times "Did I tell you you could talk by chance?"

"n-no, but-"

"then shut up! And you,"

she said pointing a finger at her sister. Elsa pointed a finger at herself fearfully.

"yes, madam, you!"

Oh my, somebody put a muzzle on her before it's late because the queen's dear little sister at that moment seemed very inclined to bite someone off that evening." you must be out of your mind thinking that we'll let you go alone! Axel is right, in your state you cannot travel alone! "

"thanks a lo-OW!"

a blow of the shoe in the shin had immediately silenced him.

Sheesh, Rude...

"so we go with you whether you like it or not, period." 

"anna-"

"Look, I climbed the northern mountain, survived a frozen heart and saved you from my ex boyfriend, I did it all without powers."

right, right and ... yes, right. The girl had all the credentials for that.

Elsa gave her husband a look, but he just shook his head "no, dear, there's no excuse for me. We're going with you." 

"traitor." she mumbled crossing her arms over her chest and closing her lips in a tight line.

A charming traitor but always a traitor. A chuckle aroused from the King's chest "the traitor you married, darlin'." and raised his left hand, holding the golden ring on his ring finger clearly in view.

How do you get angry with such a lovely idiot?

Kristoff and Olaf set out to come as well, the first to ride the sled and the second to ... help in any way?

Hm. We will see.

Pabbie made an agreement with Elsa; the people of Arendelle would remain out of the kingdom until they returned, and the trolls would keep them safe. The same morning they took the necessary items from the castle to get dressed in practical and comfortable travel clothes. Elsa wore a blue dress with light blue trousers underneath: a split more like a neckline revealed her back and on the fabric just above the shoulder blades two short trains swayed like a cloak and were connected to a travel tunic just above the most light. 

Snowflake-shaped callouts were carved with surgical precision on his boots, a work of art. They had a medium high heel, but relatively comfortable. All this gave her an even more regal and elegant look than usual, yessir.

Her husband, oh damn, what a show off. Axel had very casual attire per se, but during any kind of travel? no sir, absolutely zero reference to tight formal dresses.

Starting with a black t-shirt underneath with a straight neckline so as to have a nice look at the window on the chest, so as to glimpse the line that divided the right pectoral from the left one: followed by a long coat up to the calves with red embroidery: an accentuated collar and taller than usual: the sleeves of it were long and wide and at the ends of them black merged into a fiery red. His hair was free of that uncomfortable ponytail, and the wind blew between it. tight pants and calf-high boots, black and with a fairly high heel.

And obviously? coup de grace, eyeliner!

Anna instead wore a long dark pink coat, under it a light black dress with a yellow waist and collar. A strap bag crossed her chest and remained on her left hip as her wavy strawberry blonde hair fell over her shoulders. The piece of clothing he shared with his sister and brother-in-law was the high-heeled boot, in turn decorated with squiggles representing the Arendelle coat of arms.

And finally, Kristoff was the only one who decided to dress a little more soberly: he just wore an ice-cutter uniform that he had kept somewhere: it was dark brown, the fabric on the arms was slightly lighter and in the same color as the pants. The pointed shoes were dark, and evidently warm enough to undertake a journey similar to the cold and ...

Well.

Completely into the unknown?

Hence the latest recommendations to Kai, Gerda and the trolls. Get on the sled, let's go!


	5. 5

"Did you know that we blink 4000 times a day?"

"did you know that water has a memory?"

"Did you know that there are so many chances of being struck by lightning?"

"did you know that turtles don't breathe through their noses?"

Axel had to stop banging his head against the first rock face that came before him. "Did you know that we blink 4000 times a day?"

"did you know that water has a memory?"

"Did you know that there are so many chances of being struck by lightning?"

"did you know that turtles don't breathe through their noses?"

Axel had to stop hitting his head against the first rock face that came before him.

They had been traveling for a few days, and for a few days Olaf had not stopped informing them all with curiosity of all kinds, decidedly unsolicited and completely random.

Elsa seemed more patient than her husband, Anna vaguely intrigued and Kristoff utterly bored as she held Sven's reins firmly. It was he who intervened to help their sanity "did you know that sleeping peacefully during a long journey prevents insanity?" he commented flatly. Olaf blinked a couple of times at the highlander "really?"

and it was a flurry of statements from the Queen, the King and the Princess including "no no, absolutely true!"

"definitely."

"I read it once in a magazine-OW!" He stopped abruptly when his wife nudged him between the ribs to tell him not to attract attention: only in the last year Olaf had begun to be passionate about his surroundings, locking himself in the library for hours to learn to read. The result was this, questions and trivia pitted at lightning speed in ways that only a five-year-old can.

Well, theoretically Olaf was mentally a child in every sense. It would have been perfect as a practice. Oh well, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth, right?

Kristoff's sleigh was wide in the back and comfortable for long journeys, especially thanks to cushions and blankets that they had brought with them to make it more comfortable and they were organized like this: Anna and Kristoff were in the front seats of the sleigh, so that Kristoff could better maneuver the reins. Elsa, Axel and Olaf were in the back.

Objectively, other than listening to Olaf babbling, counting trees and dabbling in naps, there wasn't much to do if not, in fact, to hope that that trip did not last long.

"Ugh, we had to bring something to read." Axel commented. The King of Arendelle was sprawled on his sleigh side, leaning on his back with his arms folded across his chest and knees curled up. Elsa, curled up against him, shrugged "we weren't foresighted." She said in turn "hey Olaf, you don't have any books behind you, do you?" Usually they never traveled without bringing a pastime, but having had to leave in a hurry that day they didn't really have time to get something to do. A bit like when there is an earthquake: during an aftershock you are not allowed to enter a building, even worse if it is a seismic swarm. Here, the Arendelle situation can be cited as a series of earthquakes caused by ... well ... angry spirits.

the snowman shook his head "I'm sorry, I didn't bring anything." he said, then continuing to look around peacefully. Axel dropped his head on the wooden sleigh head with a THUMP attenuated only by his hair. He let his head swing for a moment before fixing his gaze on the trees passing by with a huff "wow, guys. Who could possibly be more rickety than us?" Kristoff laughed, turning to look at his co-brother-in-law out of the corner of his eye. 

"Anyone who claims to be more rickety than us will have to be part of a fight first!"

"a fist fight?"

"Well, someone will have to defend our honor as reckless adventurers!" and slapped his fist on his chest with pride, a high chin and a bright smile.

Anna gave him an affectionate push on the shoulder rolling her eyes and Elsa let out a giggle.

Axel raised a fist in turn, shaking it "That's what I'm talking about, go get 'em!" his wife gave slapped his chest in turn, giggling with a lowered eyebrow "you two, take it easy. Nobody fights!"

"but that's what identifies them as tough men!" Kristoff deepened his voice on purpose, a determined frown on his face. Anna sprawled in her chair, hands resting on her legs "I'm sorry for you but this masculinity will have to wait a loooong time, over and out."Axel hissed from his teeth, waving a hand in mid-air "A hard blow to our honor. Captain, proceed with the mission or beat a retreat?"

Kristoff looked around bobbing in his seat "mission failed, I repeat, mission failed! Soldiers, abandon the battlefield! Retreating!" he exclaimed dramatically, collapsing more in the seat pretending that an arrow had hit him in the chest. A hand came to his forehead in a faint way "oh, alas! I was hit! Oh, woe is mes. My faithful soldier, come to me!" 

And playing the game so absurdly as to arrive at comedy, Axel approached him on his knees "oh my poor, brave captain! Cut down by an arrow oh so sudden! Oh, alas! What a brave warrior has fallen on this barren land today !" he exclaimed in a plaintive tone as Kristoff pretended to be tumbling against the seat. Arms folded, his girlfriend watched him impassively, half-lids lowered in annoyance towards the scene. Elsa struggled to hold back a laugh, but for the sake of Anna's seriousness she tried not to stifle one out.

As soon as Kristoff opened an eyelid to observe Anna and as soon as he saw her face, he cleared his throat and straightened up immediately "the arrow has missed me! Rejoice everyone, go in peace. Amen." 

"oh what joy!" Axel echoed.

... dorks.

•••

They came close to a narrow rocky escarpment as the night was coming to an end, and all that could be heard were the wagon wheels scraping over some stones. But it was stable, and despite having used it often over the years, it still performed great.

Sure, the ornaments on either side of them were fading and fading, but the important thing was that it was strong enough to take such a long way. And of course the fatigue began to weigh on everyone in addition to boredom. Thank goodness Olaf hadn't taken long to fall asleep and slump against Elsa, snoring loudly on her left side. The Queen was lying on her right side and her arms were wrapped around Axel's waist, and the King was asleep with his face turned towards the wood of the sled. Elsa's mother's scarf lay between the Queen's shoulders, Olaf's head and Axel's arms, and all three slept like logs. 

Anna turned forward, face now turned towards Kristoff "they are sleeping." she noted, then shrugging her shoulders with a look of a teenager in love "so ... what do you want to do, honey?" a chuckle echoed in his chest. The mountaineer let go of the reins and smiled "heh, Sven? Steady pace, okay?"

Her lips were already positioned for a kissing session, eyes closed and a smile escaped her lips. His posture receded as Kristoff said an "Anna -" ... in a voice that was somewhat shrill and loud even for him. He cleared his throat briefly, slamming his fist on his chest several times to tone himself up and coughing for a while longer.

The redhead looked at him, her eyebrows shot up ...

hm?

"Anna." he resumed, in a softer and more calm tone. "Do you remember our first trip so when I told you that… you must be crazy to marry a man you just met?"

...

wait, what?

Anna straightened up in her chair "...you think I'm crazy?" She pronounced the words carefully, looking at him sideways as if to suggest that he choose the next words carefully by slowly turning her head towards him.

Kristoff hurried to carry on "you were-"

Sven was the one who gave him a fake cough as if to tell him to find a way to dodge a bullet before the wrath of an angry woman poured out on him.

"-not crazy. Definitely not crazy!"

nailed it.

"just ... just naive!"

Anna gave him a haughty look, stepping back in the seat and moving away from him.

No, No. Recalculation of the route. dude, come on you're making a terrible figure, say something!

"not-not naive. Just ... new to love! Like me, after all!"

nice save, bravo!

"and when you're new to love you're bound to be wrong-"

"... are you saying I'm wrong for you?"

epic failure. Curtain, please.

Elsa's awakening thought to spare him. The Queen had awakened from sleep, and now she was looking around very concentrated "Kristoff, stop." she said, shaking her husband off the shoulder with one hand. The King was already half awake when he felt her hands leave his life and although with a sleepy grunt, he rose and yawned loudly "I hear it. I hear the voice."

and that sentence was enough to wake everyone from the torpor of the night.

and in two seconds flat the sled stopped and everyone got out and was walking towards the end of the slope.

Olaf rubbed his eyes, yawning sleepily. Anna just put Iduna's shawl back into her travel bag carefully as Elsa and Axel walked hand in hand on the head of the group.

No doubt: when a huge amount of what looked like smoke was revealed in front of them in stark contrast to the stupendous color of the sun just risen dominating the whole valley, the group stopped in their footsteps: The two sisters barely held a start, the other three just observed the thick fog. It was so thick that you couldn't see what lay beyond it. A river? A sea? a lake? or perhaps a plain, a prairie? impossible to say-

WHAM!

And that was the sound of a husband crashing into his wife's back because she suddenly stopped. Elsa felt her shoulders collide with his chest, and the King's hands encircled her waist to keep from falling.

All by resting his chin on her shoulder and making a movement to squeeze her hand a little tighter,Axel sighed "I appreciate the enthusiasm of the race and everything .." interrupted the King "but love of my life, light of my eyes ... don't brake so suddenly."

"yeah ... uh ... I'm sorry, honey ..." but her eyes were distant ... far away on all the fog. It didn't take long for Kristoff and Anna together with Olaf and Sven (out of breath, of course) to reach them and then stop slowly at the edge of the fog.

"Watch..."

Anna's finger appeared in the view; she was pointing to four imposing figures in front of them ... they were made of stone and on top of them were symbols engraved on each of them ...

"they are ... they are megaliths."

Elsa looked at him "what?"

he took a step forward, one hand outstretched towards the fog: Maybe he could clear it with a wave of his hand to

Zac!

"ouch!"

The King quickly retracted his hand, clutching it protectively to his chest and casting a look that was a mixture of confused and angry as his eyes slayed the mist. As soon as his fingertips made contact with the surface of the fog, a shock filled his body. A bit like when a wool surface comes into contact with rubber ... it was not a violent shock, but it was enough to make him withdraw in surprise "don't do it!"

Anna shrugged "so you learn to be so impulsive, red!"

oh, not now.

Elsa's hand did not let go of hers, she simply extended the other herself towards it ... and as soon as the Queen's hand touched that giant cloud, in a blatant suck it thins out around her hand to create a passage.

"look and learn." was what she said with a half smile to her husband. Axel lowered his eyelids towards her, using his free hand to casually place it on his side and tilt his head to look elsewhere "beginner's luck."

Elsa refrained from giggling "your pride speaks for you, dear." but the proud expression on his face was betrayed by the loving grip of his hand ... come on, his pride would recover. now there was a mystery to be solved, and that he had waited too long.

Then, all hand in hand, the royal family entered the thick fog. and damn ... in his travels, Axel had seen dense and almost impenectable fog. But never like this ...

here seeing one centimeter from your nose was absolutely impossible. Not a rock, a tuft of grass, the shadow of a tree. Anything.

It almost seemed that it would never let them out again ... and Elsa felt Axel's hand press more against hers in a squeeze she recognized. He wanted to protect her from anything that might jump out of the fog, not to mention that she knew how to take care of herself ... oh don't mind, the paternal instinct was activated before he even realized it. and that was good, because it meant he would be willing to wrestle with scrounge and scrape to defend both.

Olaf trotted to the side of the group, looking around as if it were the most natural thing in the world "you know, I read that an enchanted forest is a place of change! Who knows how each of us will change!"

not even time to finish this sentence ...

why was mother nature angry with them?

Since they had been walking with a relatively slouchy and swaying step, now a force that looked like a wind or ... a shockwave? he was shoving them forward "HEY!" Anna cried shrilly, clinging to Kristoff so as not to tumble to the ground.

Elsa tried to plant her heels in the ground to contrast, but to no avail ... whatever that entity was pulling them forward, this one wanted them out of there.

And "out of there" took a while to get there.

Relatively that mystical place was out of the fog, in what we will simply call 'shockwave'. Because it literally threw our heroes out of the mist with little kindness: they barely landed on their own legs, risking to fall face down on the ground covered with autumn leaves damp from the night just passed. an expression to describe them at that moment? let's see ...

worn out.

And the journey had only just begun ... well, it looks promising.

Elsa's braid, obviously still intact, was sagging on her back. But Anna, Axel and Kristoff's hair was a real disaster: the strawberry blonde of the princess loose on her shoulders and waved by some curls were more like a bush, the very red one of Axel that had been gathered in her usual low ponytail were completely disheveled out of it, and perhaps on Kristoff's blond hair the messy effect was the only case in which it looked fine (also because the former mountain man's hair was not famous for being very neat).

Axel leaned on his knees "ugh ... goldurn you, stupid-"

a stream of wind hit him right in the face just as he was about to finish the sentence in a not exactly nice way. The King raised his hands in surrender "stupidly ... beautiful, beautiful fog! Heheh ..." but that giggle was completely out of breath.

Yes, of course, saved for a corner.

"what the heck was that?" Kristoff pulled some leaves from his tunic, glancing over his shoulder at the passage that-

... oh no.

Oh no no no.

"guys ... the portal ..."

Axel tried to fix his hair with an irritated snort "so what?"

"it's ... er ... closed."

fantastic.

the King's back immediately straightened and his wild red head turned quickly towards his co-brother-in-law. The Queen had the same reaction, only more intense and with a quicker "what ?!" he screeched as she hurled herself against the barrier.

Oddly, Anna was the one who had the quietest reaction. Instead of running towards what had trapped them, she just walked slowly towards it looking for a way out ... but their hands only touched something solid ... as if someone had placed a wall in it as they entered.

"oh, come on ..."

the anger was starting to rise more and more, more and more until the King raised a hand then collected it in a fist and reopened it quickly: in the palm of it a flame surrounding his fingers bent in an almost clawed way "dodge." 

"what?"

"I'll take care of it ... or at least I'll try."

And moving his shoulder back, he gave his arm momentum forward with a grunt. The flames danced around it and shot straight forward towards the wall of mist ...

but he had to dodge as well as they bounced back and flew straight towards him. The King turned just in time to avoid getting his heart burned ...

well, bankruptcy plans ... they never help.

"Well." Anna observed "we're trapped."

you think? Damn, what supernatural intuition.


	6. Chapter 6

okay, I grant this.

Mist misfortune aside, as soon as the group turned around ... the sight of what must have been the enchanted forest was absolutely breathtaking. A seemingly common type of forest from a traveler's experience: multicolored leaves lay on the ground and slender trees whose bark was a healthy color. Thin branches yet laden with leaves even if you wanted to during the spring ... you could only see part of the sky, and it was much less than the immense celestial vault to which the six Arendellians (or rather, the two Arendellians and two naturalized Arendellians through marriage and engagement) were used to.

Elsa advanced among the leaves, letting a hand slide along the trunk of a tree near her, admiring the surroundings with big and adoring eyes towards that place so silent and magical. Literally, not a fly flew in that place. It wasn't like Arendelle, who had a quiet atmosphere when that kind of silence reigned. Maybe in the evening, when the nightlife of the day gradually stopped to make room for a rest. Not here. Here it was as if silence were sacred, imperturbable. Almost as if it had reigned supreme for years ... perhaps since the dam had been built. Maybe from the day Runeard died ... it could be, maybe from the day the mist fell over the forest. There was no way of knowing except by continuing. The edge of the forest ended with a split into the fjord and an imposing structure that held the excess water firmly.

"that's... the dam." Anna had to be careful not to trip, because otherwise it would have been a long and painful flight if she fell off that precipice. There is no need to take risks, come on. after nearly thirty-four years it still held up great and still looked as good as new .... well, Runeard had done a great job back then. The princess let out a smile as she looked around the perimeter ... it was even bigger than she had expected. "It still stands...?" Axel asked, his gaze shifting from the dam to his sister-in-law, approaching in turn, keeping an eye on the precipice with suspicion. Oh, if you give in now I swear I'll make you pay dearly.

"gee, Granpa-in-law. Kudos. Kudos Indeed..."

"The fact it's still standing's good, I'd say." Kristoff added, Elsa still spellbound looking around. "because...?"

"Well ... if the dam were to fail it would wipe out everything on this fjord." hey, one second ... Axel looked anxiously at the water held by the stone and marble. Trample everything on that fjord? "Arendelle's on this fjord ..." Anna observed, a hint of apprehension tinted her voice as she turned to get a better look at the peaceful landscape ...such a beautiful place had been the scene of so much violence, the death of a father, the disappearance of a leader and a cruel fate. Kristoff kept eyeing Anna the way he had the night before ... hm, a little privacy!

King of Arendelle, _out_ of the picture! Axel stretched and then wrapped an arm around Elsa's shoulders "hey, honey, let's go see where Olaf is!"

... one moment. Where exactly _was_ Olaf?

* * *

The snowman skipped peacefully across a vast expanse of leaves ... or better. Let's say that more than jumping, he swayed on his steps, looking around with a bit of wit: this place was so different from Arendelle, and he didn't know if it was in a good way or in a bad way ... it just smacked of diversity with that pristine air and that noble silence.

Going back there after all this would have been so different ... or maybe not, considering that the King and Queen were expecting an heir. so it was likely that the palace would be significantly less quiet for quite a while. But this right here was an even more majestic silence than all the times when rulers awaited lectures, and therefore there must have been a dead silence as missionaries or people of high enough rank talked (mercenaries, lords, etc.)

... Looking around, the snowman realized that there was no sign of Elsa, Axel, Anna, Kristoff, Sven or ... Samantha.

Wait, what? _Samantha_? A laugh flew out of the snowman's mouth: it was high-pitched, squawking at times and decidedly childish "I don't even _know_ a Samantha!" and with a squeak of laughter, he rolled among the leaves ... his laugh echoed in the void, perhaps barely illuminating that glimmer of silence that had reigned for who knows how long. until something lifted him off the ground, spinning him around on himself and then letting him restlessly on his backside, back into the leaves.

The laughter on his face was replaced by a terrified expression in the newly created silence: still, the black eyes in the snowman were the only thing that moved as he cautiously observed his surroundings. "... it's normal." he said seraphic as he got up, shaking the leaves out of the way. He couldn't even finish that sentence, because a stronger wave washed over him dragging him away into a tornado.

Normal? Never Heard of that.

* * *

A distant sucking enveloped the air as if the flow of it had subsided and it lay turning over on itself ... and it was the person least likely to notice it to realize that something was wrong. Anna stopped suddenly, looking around "did you hear that?" Axel's bored voice had replied with usual sarcasm "do you hear a voice too? North, south, east or west?"

"I'm serious!"

"hi serious, I'm Axel."

yeah, this guy here was the father.

But still she had heard something. Or rather, if it had been a silent hurricane rest assured that she wouldn't have noticed it either ... but instead, Anna of Arendelle's eyes widened when she saw the figure of the snowman flitting in circles in what looked like a tornado. A fairly fast and quite impetuous tornado. " ** _OLAF ?!_** " she squeaked throwing herself forward, in vain Kristoff's arms tried to grab her to bring her to safety because by now that natural disaster was too close to be resisted. bad idea.

Because? simple.

Within a second flat they had all been overwhelmed along with Olaf in that crazy mid-air race. A curse was clearly heard from Axel as they were hovered in the air and tossed in the air streams formed by the hurricane ...

hurricane? tornado? oh, well, give him a break!

A respite, however, which it did not give to the poor travelers. Axel tried to stabilize himself very awkwardly, especially when a rather amused Olaf flew in front of him with all the nonchalance in the world and exclaimed "Hey, Axel! A little windy today!" The King of Arendelle, who currently couldn't even stand straight without tipping over, found himself upside down. His poor ponytail, needless to say, was now dead, leaving his mane free to crash every tuft into his eyes "I never would have kno- _WOAH_!" he managed to shout over the tornado before being overturned, thrown into the air like a rag doll and caught on the fly. "Hey! knock it o-! "Guess why the last vowel interrupted? Well, it seems obvious to me? Because the very nice spirit of the wind simply decided that he didn't like Axel, and therefore to rage on him at immense speed ... when he stopped to go and rage on the others, the King of Arendelle found himself stunned. "if I get out of here alive, I swear I'll run after you with a leaf vacuum!" he exclaimed hoarsely, a wave that turned him upside down silenced him.

Talk to the wind. Well, this trip was getting stranger and stranger. Elsa thought she was next: yet when a wave of leaves came to her, it briefly circled her neck, and off to take Olaf apart. Something told her that this entity sensed a younger life that needed to be protected, and had simply decided to take it easy on her... The Queen tried to get out of the way of the currents, and as she watched how the others were doing. Does it need to be said? All in the same boat. Anna was trying to remove the cloak that had fallen on her head, Kristoff was rubbing her head just hit by a rock ... and Olaf was absolutely unaware of the danger they were in.

Until someone with a hot enough temper she called husband seemed to lose patience once and for all, and she understood this because when she turned her face was disfigured by lines of anger. " _THAT'S ENOUGH_ " If you can't befriend it, destroy it, right?

A sharp, quick movement of the King's arm was enough to send a flame crashing into the edge of the tornado, and the surface of it behaved as when someone puts cold hands on your neck, you retreat into it to avoid the cold. The edge retracted in on itself, and Axel could clearly feel it throwing daggers at him with what was supposedly a look. He didn't give him time to recover, as he used his other arm to crash a more intense blaze in the same spot, throwing several times almost nastily.

"Come on!" and the wind accepted the challenge, because a push made Elsa roll out first, then Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven in a decidedly not very nice and very incerimonial way, making them roll a little farther ... Elsa took little to get up and cast a terrified look at the battle ahead.

The hurricane had shrunk to two more column-like walls: one to the right and one to the left. To avoid being dragged away and thrown who knows where, the King stuck his hands from both sides as the wall was about to close with him in the middle and channeling all the energy he could find in his body he tensed his shoulders, bowed his head, clenched his teeth, and a familiar warmth escaped from the palms of his hands. The contrast resulted in an indescribable sound, almost a clash of cold and heat, which clearly blocked the flow of wind. By planting the heels of his boots well into the ground, Axel held the position with how much strength he had in his body, with every single atom of his being.

" _AXEL!_ " Cried the Queen: One arm shielded his face while the other tried to find a way in which his powers could help him. But when she started to spring forward, Anna held her by one hand screaming "no! It's too dangerous!" 

too dangerous? Her husband was literally _fighting_ the spirit of the raging wind and she was standing there. and as strong as the King of Arendelle was, he knew he could not hold out for long against something bigger than himself ... as it turned out, his knees were beginning to flicker, the flames to be less intense and gritting his teeth had become automatic.

A drop beaded his right eyebrow, not from fatigue but from the heat created in that microclimate. And then ... a voice.

A little girl laughed. Axel raised his head upward to see a small figure leaping between the spirals of the fiery tornado. She had long, curly, hair that dangled over her back as she chased after something, and was quickly replaced by a second figure staring him straight in the eye.

A frightened little boy dressed up as a royal: his straight hair waved off the side of his head when someone called his name. A male voice " _Prince Agnarr!_ "

Agnarr?

his father-in-law?

Was it a vision?

A glimpse into the past?

What was it? 

A sword cut his vision, and a stern face with large downward arched eyebrows stared at him for a moment. King Runeard's warm but hoarse voice made the air vibrate " _for Arendelle_." and vanished, dissolving in the flames.

For Arendelle.

For Elsa.

For their child. A hit of pure, _raw_ adrenaline danced in his veins: clawing his fingers with more intensity, the flames increased more and more, more and more ...

" _HIS MAJESTY!"_

_"NO!"_

_"FATHER!"_

With a last crescendo of energy the King clenched his teeth and let all the strength that had accumulated in his shoulders flow in fiery flashes and with a last effort, he pulled his arms back for a moment and when he opened them again they let the flames go with even more power. This the Wind was tamed by the flames that became so intense as to succeed to thin it out without burning everything.

And after that epic, the forest was even more silent. And finally the King was able to relax his arms stretched up to that moment and raised his head, controlling his breath. Elsa was the first to jump forward, and with a quick movement she wrapped her arms around him holding him in a hug

"Are you okay ?! are you hurt? Burned? Nothing broken?" and as she spoke she dragged her hands on his chest, on his face, took his hands or passed her own along his arms, all this without breaking eye contact, ending by throwing herself towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tightly to herself again "you're crazy, crazy crazy ..." and continued to mutter, running her hands through his hair. In response he placed a kiss on her shoulder

"are _you_ okay? The young gentleman here," (glare at the wind) "wasn't too kind to you ..." Elsa turned to her sister and her brother-in-law, eyebrows raised in a worried way.

"we are all well?" Anna looked around, without answering ... her sister used to be amazed at everything ... but this time her turquoise eyes brimmed with astonishment as she looked around.

"wow..." Husband and wife looked around. The place where the fight against the hurricane had taken place was now teeming with ... very high lava rocks. Definitely high.

Well, this is _definitely_ something you don't see every day.

And yes...definitely wow. Elsa and Axel released from their embrace to observe the surroundings of the shapes of solidified lava placed in a circle around them; A soaring horse, a lit hearth immortalized over time, a man from Arendelle sheltering with his shield, his sword stretched straight in front of him, hair blown by the wind. Given the presence cracks in the figure, seeing the face was impossible ... only to discern the intentions from the body position was possible, the rest was completely illegible.

Axel ran his hand along the statue's sword observing it "you say there's a way to see these figures more clearly?" Anna patted her chin, one hand on her hip "hey, Olaf?" The snowman, busy touching the fake hearth, raised his eyes towards her

"what was that theory of yours ... that of water?" water ... right.

"oh! right! water has memory!" the snowman enunciated, hopping beside Sven with a smile on his face (as always, anyway). The King turned his head towards him "why?"

Taking off his arm, Olaf pointed it against the side of the reindeer "The water has memory, because it has passed through four animals or people before reaching us!" he said "so it's very likely that It remembers what happened!" 

Yeah ... it seemed very unlikely. "So in theory ice could also have memory?"

"likely!"

... and automatically everyone turned to the Queen. "Uhm...?" Elsa put her hands together on her chest, looking at everyone cautiously. "what?" All right, OK, ice is solidified water ... and ice dissolved fire ... maybe it made sense that they were looking at her.

Axel rubbed the side of his head, then passing his hand between his illustrious locks "you say you could freeze them?"

" _freeze_ them?" she repeated. Anna nodded energetically, fiddling with a lock of hair "we could be on the right track! It's worth a try!" he said, a movement of his hands to point to the cast statues.

They looked so real ... you didn't have the feeling of looking at statues, but moments of broken life how long ago ... thirty? thirty-four years if not more? none of them were born, anyway.

Could have been a way to see clearly ...

a tinkle followed by what sounded like laughter, and a wave traveled between them no longer with violence but with curiosity shrouded in leaves. The spirit made Olaf spin for a moment, but with more gentleness. It was more playful now ...

had it calmed down? very well. Axel instinctively raised his hands anyway, you know ... he didn't care at all to find himself tossed by different currents again, but the wind was quick to lower them.

Her husband's confusion was hilarious to see: the King's green eyes widened as the wind swirled around him in a circle, sending strands of hair flying around and flying beneath his black cloak " _YOU LITTLE-_ " he protested, trying to chase it away with one hand, but in vain. Because the wind caught him and made him turn around that left him stunned for a moment ... Again that jingle that sounded like laughter. Definitely not amused, The King gave him a grim look which was then broken by a smile " _hah-hah_. Yes, very funny, old fox."

It moved from the King to the Queen, who had a much calmer reaction than he did, But then again It was way more gentle with her. As if the spirit had understood their personalities immediately, and was paying them back with the same coin: Calm and serene with Elsa, impetuous and playful with Axel. The wind danced around her, stopping to her left and tickling her neck. Elsa giggled, tilting her head to one side and lifting a finger to relatively cuddle the wind, and it in response lifted her platinum blonde braid and placed it over her mouth forming...

uhm ... uh ... A _mustache-braid_? Anna's heartfelt laughter enters the scene, interspersed with a decidedly un-princely grunt (what's new?) Yet the princess was no better off: the playful wind had turned her long travel cloak over her head, and she was holding it up with one hand to see. "tskkk, mustache-braid!" She chuckled, placing a hand over her mouth.

How much maturity.

And well: Kristoff and Sven, who were perhaps the most likely to get used to this playful entity faster, looked absolutely ... er ... not so convinced. Kristoff had tried to blow the wind away, Sven had found himself on his back right after Olaf. The snowman had chuckled "I think I'll call you Gale!"

 _Gale_ ... interesting name. Well: 'Gale' walked away from them towards a different lava statue ... and this one was interesting. Two figures; one held the other off the ground by holding her from the shoulders with one hand behind her head. And it was enough to arouse the interest of the two sisters, who immediately rushed to check. Here, now was a good time to test that trick. Elsa dropped a hand on the top of the head of one of the two people, thus revealing both in the form of two ice statues: an unconscious boy, and a wavy-haired girl was saving him. Anna ran a hand over the boy's solidified hair, observing the clothing: he was a royal ...

" _Father?_ " Those present observed the helpless figure of a young King Agnarr. Axel narrowed his eyes ... then he had seen right, in there in the tornado ... It had really shown what had happened in the past. (indirectly he had met his father-in-law, in short.) and if he was surprised, he who was only Agnarr's son-in-law ... imagine the surprise of Agnarr's _daughters_. But soon, the eyes of the two turned to the mysterious girl. She must have been about twelve, or thirteen ... what was clear was that she was clearly helping him. The girl was raised off the ground like him, and on her young face lay an expression of concern towards the one she held in her arms.

"this girl is saving him ..." Elsa murmured passing a hand over the statue's curly head. Axel and Kristoff looked at the statue ... it was a peasant dress, if not a tribe member. "Guys, I think she's Northuldra."

A bugle echoed in the distance, and shook the tops of the autumn trees causing everyone present to jump. The pause was short-lived ... another raging spirit? well, off we go.

The group slowly backed away looking around, as if to form a protective tortoise: Elsa kept her hands outstretched, Kristoff drew the sword he had brought along while Anna borrowed it from her grandfather's dtatuay (although she didn't know how to handle one. ), Olaf, who was usually cheerful and sunny, was now clearly afraid.

The Queen held out a hand in front of him, gesturing to him not to move "stay behind me, Olaf." the King, with a movement of his hands, summoned his weapon: he called it Keyblade, and it was very similar to a sword. He spun it around on itself from the handle several times and then dropped it onto his shoulder as they backed away. Stuck in an unknown forest with something dangerous ahead of you?

Tsk, daily business.

Detecting any kind of movement down there was practically impossible, yet Anna managed to spot something. With a cry, the girl rushed towards a wall of leaves before anyone could stop her and with a sharp blow of the arm cut off the branch that blocked her view only to find herself in front of a stream of people dressed in tribal way, armed with spears.

Ad libitum, fantastic.


	7. 7

"lower your weapon."

"lower your weapon first."

Could lowering your weapons at the same time be an option?

No? well, damn it.

And there they were: Anna with a sword held in her hand pointed straight at the throat of the Northultra girl who in turn was pointing a spear at her, straight on the jugular in an agglomeration of anger mixed with protection towards her family under Kristoff's stunned gazes and of the Monarchs, again in defensive mode.

say. They don't really like intruders, visitors or personalities along that line. 

As cute, kind, friendly as she was and a good sister ... oh my, no one would let anyone really get on her nerves if they don't want to end up badly. (Hans's face knows something, he and his broken nose from colliding with her fist on his face.)

... because she could become aggressive. _Very_ aggressive when it came to defending the people she loved ... imagining her in a couple of years as the funny but fiercely protective aunt was very easy.

And that was clear: I won't lower my weapon if you won't lower yours first, on both sides it was like a defense mode. So what to do? The tension was palpable in the air ... well, those must have been the famous _Northuldra_. The magical people Elsa and Anna had talked about.

Hm, not very hospitable I would say.

They don't really like intruders, visitors or personalities along that line. There were many: in stark contrast to the six of them and their little equipment ... er ... articulated on the basis of weapons and various things ... oh seriously? A Queen who can create ice and snow on command, a King who can manipulate fire at will, a princess who has no qualms about banging a chair on your head, a badass ice-bearer, a talking snowman and one. .. reindeer.

Oh yes. They would have beaten them. One of the men tried to approach, but stepping forward sharply as a warning the King managed to keep him at bay. "Back off. I'm warning you."

" _you_ are the intruders. _You_ back off." intervened a woman whose hair was white. Not a white like Elsa's, but a white who marked an advanced age. She had a stern, austere look, and she eyed them one by one in less than an instant without ever giving up a defensive position. "how did you get in here?" She asked imperatively, austerely, even noble. She may not have been the queen, but it was certainly clear that she knew how to get respected. He bit his tongue to avoid abrupt answers, especially to avoid unnecessary wars "why don't we all calm down?" Elsa quickly suggested this, a hand landed on Axel's chest quickly to calm any anger in him.

A sound of metal colliding with metal shifted the attention of the group from in front of them to behind them, where some men arranged in an arc carried swords and shields well stretched forward "you heard the young woman, Northultra, lower that 'weapon." Axel took a quick glance at the men: the garment had dark skin, complimented by green and formal attire, knee-high boots, white pants and ... was he a little grizzled? The others were no better off: they all seemed to be of a certain age.

"and where do these come from?" murmured the King, with an impertinent movement of his chin towards those directly concerned, Keyblade still resting on his shoulder. "Arendellian soldiers...?" it was Anna who clarified everything by pointing to the coat of arms on their shields. The yellow lily with a dark green and pink pattern ... The symbol of the kingdom and its official flag.

The woman glared at the man "again to intervene when not requested, Mattias?"

"invading my dance floor again, Yelena?" and they pronounced each other's names very well with unspecified hatred, sharp glances from side to side with the royal family still in between.

_Yelena and Mattias._

_Mattias ..._

_Mattias_?

Anna squinted at him, pointing to his relatively towering figure with the fake sword "... that soldier looks so familiar ..." Useless were the warning glances of her family ... because the time of a glance, and one of the soldiers sounded the alarm pointing to the sword.

"Lieutenant!" _oh no_. A whirlwind of shouts of attack, exclamations from the Arendellians and a sinking heart. Just in time for that, and before they knew it, Northuldra and the soldiers were rushing to meet them in an unfriendly fashion with weapons brandished. Whoever was now thinking that now is _not_ the time for a couple action, better think again because the moment both sides attacked, King and Queen did not hesitate to carry out a combo attack-defense.

On one side the flames rose blocking Mattias and the soldiers, on the other a plate of ice skidded on the ground blocking the Northuldra and causing them to slide disastrously to the ground. Whoops of dismay ensued, the sound of shoes losing their stability falling on the ice at other people and weapons crashing into the ice would be hilarious to watch.

"When a sovereign gives an order it would be good practice to obey." Axel growled. Elsa just patted him on the chest to tell him to take it easy. The scenario was absolutely hilarious, as already established. Two different factions with their mouths open, indeed wide open, in front of what they had just seen: a man and a woman, fire and ice, two completely different opposites that were potentially destructive, and yet linked they were truly fascinating. Mattias, pale as rag, leaned over the wall of flames and glanced at an irritated Yelena who was struggling to get up.

"Magic ... did you see that..?" giving up getting up and just staying where she was, the village chief gave him a grim look "Of course I saw that." dry answers.

A new silence fell interrupted by the crackling of the flames and some murmurs from everyone: Northuldra exchanging words, clarifications, murmurs ... and all this with wide eyes fixed on ice and fire. "you've chosen a special welcome ..." Anna murmured to her sister. Arendelle's group was still strictly placed in tortoise mode, therefore shoulder to shoulder and with their backs to Olaf as they watched the two peoples. "Have they been stuck here all these years?" thirty years or so. It's a very long time ... The Northuldra,at least, were stuck in their own land, but the Arendellians had been left abandoned in an unknown land and found themselves struggling to survive. Damn... "what do we do now?" Elsa murmured.

Second question of the century. That is, until the answer literally slipped between their legs, pulling cloaks and skirts aside to jump forward "I'll take care of it! Hi, I'm Olaf!"

Oh boy.

The reactions were the same as when Anna and Kristoff first met Olaf (minus her deadly kick that made his head fly off): dismay. A boy took refuge behind his sister, a woman fainted, a man jumped and the rest backed away quickly. Magnificent, simply magnificent (sarcasm, mind you) "oh; right, I have no clothes! I find them quite overrated!"

... nice way to break the ice.

"You wonder why we are here, right?" The snowman skated to the center of the place farthest from the fire with a full-fledged. In a very very theatrical way the snowman delighted in telling the story of the two sisters' lives up to that point, coming to an end in less than two minutes and ending with a smile and a "Any questions?"

... silence. With a movement of her hand, Elsa caused the ice to retreat, allowing the two peoples to get up. Axel's hand traveled around her waist and pulling her to him. He could not see his face but he could clearly perceive a defiant look usually of his: high chin and dangerously thin green eyes. Mattias lowered his shield "Are you two the rulers of Arendelle?"

Axel raised an eyebrow at him "in person." he said "and just for the record, if you try to even _touch_ my wife and consequently our baby, you will have a very VERY angry king."

"... Baby? you two ..?" the Queen nodded slowly, an involuntary smile appearing on her lips. If Mattias trusted, Yelena was still wary. The mere fact that they were from Arendelle was an alarm; she held the weapon well raised towards the group pointing to Elsa "Why would the spirits give magic to a woman from Arendelle?" That spear was really too close; out of the corner of her eye Elsa clearly saw Axel snort like a raging bull from the nostrils, his body stiffened.

Mattias intervened "perhaps to right the wrong of your people!" he exclaimed. Yelena slammed her stick on the ground "my people are innocent, we would never have attacked first."

Well… where did the war start from then if none of the sides attacked first? Axel rubbed his temples with a sigh. Anna seemed focused on something else, staring at Mattias's face ... until- "of course!" she hopped in place in front of the soldier, eyes bright.

"Lt. Destin Mattias; library, second shelf on the right!" the purest and clearest confusion made its way into the face of the soldier, who retreated half a step without drawing his sword ... who _was_ she? "You were our father's official guard!" From confusion, an expression of tenderness removed all trace of it with a nostalgic smile.

"Agnarr ..." he murmured "... what happened to your parents?"

Automatically, the sisters took hands now side by side. Their eyes of the same color lowered her ground, the Queen bit her lower lip. "Their ship sank in the South Sea ... six years ago."

A new change of expression. From nostalgia to a deep form of pain, acute but not spoken that made its way not on the face, but in the heart of the lieutenant. The rest of the soldiers respectfully lowered their heads to see their superior so grieved ... Agnarr had been his protege, the prince had been entrusted to him to be protected at every opportunity ... How had she managed to lose sight of him in that fight? Agnarr was gone ... that little boy with delicate freckles and cute laughter had now been lying at the bottom of the sea for six years now, dying as both a King and a scared child.

Mattias had not seen him grow up, fulfill himself, fall in love, become King and become a father. The lieutenant threw a look at the two sisters, feeling a smile pull the edges of his lips "... I see him. In your faces." The smile of the one who was the younger sister? that smile screamed ' _Agnarr_ '. Those lively eyes, the way to move ... that left no doubt. These two women were indeed Agnarr's daughters.

His gaze shifted to the two men who accompanied them: the red-haired one wore the same ring on the ring finger that the Queen wore "your husband, I guess ..." Elsa turned to her husband, then back to Lieutenant "Mattias, this is Axel." She said quietly, as if the other people weren't waiting for another kind of interaction interspersed with that little theater of acquaintances. "And that's Kristoff, my sister's partner." His Keyblade was gone, and when the lieutenant laid eyes on him, Elsa waved him over. Okay: Royal mode activated, give yourself a polish. He advanced with a single step, arms folded behind his back as he had observed many times in the paintings at the palace, even if by now assuming that pose came quite natural to him. Mattias planted a fist in his chest, and dropped to one knee "Your Majesty." at first, he had to refrain from saying to call him 'Axel', and not 'your majesty'. He gave the lieutenant a nod, gesturing for him to stand up. The other man's eyes sailed from him to the enemy People "soldiers." he said advancing "we may be rusty, but that won't stop us from fighting for Arendelle."

Well... alright? not so much for the simple fact that the Northuldra looked terrified. The stoic woman in charge of them stretched her hands around the spear she held, snapping her hazel green eyes through the Arendellians. Axel immediately understood that, if cornered, this lady would not give in without a fight.

Elsa stepped between the two factions just in time "wait! A voice called me here!" he exclaimed quickly "we don't want to harm you ... we just want to help." The older woman's gaze hardened considerably "we trust only nature. When nature speaks-"

a sudden blaze frightened everyone present when a tree behind them, out of nowhere, caught fire. Kristoff quickly pulled Anna out of the way, and the stubborn girl clung to him taken aback by the sudden fury of whatever had caused the isolated fire. Axel held out an arm to shield Elsa and immediately pull her away from there, Keyblade clutched once more.

"we listen." Yelena finished the sentence in a whisper.


	8. Chapter 8

Chaos had pervaded a relatively calm atmosphere with an element that perhaps suited you better than any other.

Fire.

After knowing what her husband would be in the future, Elsa had rarely seen a fire other than that of the aforementioned consort ... Axel's fire was hot and intense on its own ... but this fire was ...

pink?

pink fire?

While what she was used to was a hot orange, intense, so intense it could burn the retina.

This? not so much...

it was just that much smoke, although the flames weren't that high.

But it was enough to send the Northultra into a state of panic.

Faced with the appearance of the flames, everyone had retreated and this had given the fire spirit the advantage to leap in front of them leaving a trail of fire behind th"head to the river!" the distant and auroritarian voice of Mattias boomed in the air followed by a noise of jerks and shifting leaves, panicked animals, screaming children and in all this the familiar 'shhing' of Axel's Keyblade, precisely drawn against a possible enemy. Instinctively the queen grabbed Axel's jacket to pull him back from being reckless "NO! Axel, stop!"

Her husband's green eyes flashed in her direction, her chest rose with an equally abrupt breath "what?"

"Fire!"... and soon the flames surrounded the clearing. he pointed at the flames surrounding them in a frenzied way, all without letting go of his jacket, so much that wrinkles formed on it.

"I can see very well that it is fire! I am in fact trying to repel them!" the last sentence came with a grunt as he used the edge of the hilt of his weapon to blast a very violent jet of flame away from his wife who had let go of the back of her jacket. "then I'll help you!"

His eyes widened, his shoulders tensed. "Elsa-" he tried to protest, ready to blame her for how much effort was not good for her, especially now at the beginning.  
But she shook her head, resolute positioning herself back to back with him "no offense, love ... but fighting fire with fire? It will be a mess."

and the King of Arendelle found himself thinking, yet this time his flaming fingers did not even remotely touch his wedding ring. Too much, really too busy keeping that fire out of nowhere at bay, without warning.

At least from his point of view ...

His wife, on the other hand, was not in the same boat. It must have been when she absently found herself smoothing her travel dress, or squeezing her hands together under her breasts while Yelena was making up her mind and Axel could hardly refrain from answering badly.

But it had been like a tingle on the side of her head: from the chin to behind the ear.

She had felt it ... and a moment later the flames had flared up.

How had she foreseen it?

Elsa of Arendelle looked at her hands ... so small, delicate and tapering and that they were capable of creating something so powerful, so destructive and yet so protective.

The docile Elsa disappeared when she realized that those powers could be used for a purpose that was much more important to her: salvation. Give that child a future.

Pabbie had spoken plainly, and until that wrong was right Arendelle would not be safe for anyone. The Queen did not think twice: a quick movement of the arm and blocked the flames, extinguishing them with an icy jet that fell straight on them with space speed. A faint column of smoke hovered in the air as he kept an eye on the progress of the fire by moving first to the right, then to the left with his torso to calm them...

and it launched in pursuit of what was creating her at the same moment in which it whipped in front of her "i got it!" she exclaimed, a determined frown crippling her face as she launched into a run.

Damn, a woman in high heels, waiting for a baby, running on the ice without slipping ... Mama Elsa would have been a force to be reckoned with even in a few months. Her husband's protesting exclamations fell on deaf ears, because by now she was charged with a potentially dangerous, unknown, ancient and above all powerful creature.

... Axel knew that this woman was going to give him countless heart attacks over the next few months (at least from having that luscious mane that he found on his head, he would have gone on to have all white hair.) and the heart that had been ripped from his chest for so long became a drum as he watched his wife vanish into the darkness at a rush, and he could not run after her as he lost sight of her almost immediately.

Oh, his calm was on the verge of collapsing.

Those flames seemed to have a life of their own, as if they were looking for him in every way to bring him down. He swore under his breath, giving his arm a quick swing and ducking quickly to avoid getting burned (unlikely)...whatever this spirit wanted, he was certainly very angry.

Angry, scared ... it was a destructive kind of emotion anyway ... One that Elsa had expressed for years ... and running towards that fiery little figure was somehow a revenge for her.

the high heels of the queen's boots screeched against the ice she created, in an attempt to block the ride and trap that entity.

What was driving her?

oh, just a little thing called "mother fury", highly developed right now.

She had never moved this fast in her entire life. Not even when she found herself fighting for her life against the soldiers of the Duke of Weselton ... not even when she fled during the storm at Arendelle or after his coronation ... not even when she was running away from it all.

This time it wasn't she who ran away, this time it wasn't she who was cornered ... the queen of Arendelle was asserting herself a little at a time, and this time it was the apparent threat that found herself in a corner.

Literally.

With two quick hand movements Elsa created ice spikes on the sides of a protruding rock. Like a crazed splinter, the fiery entity wandered with an almost panic-stricken frenzy over the curved surface of it ... if Elsa hadn't been determinedly enraged, she would surely have felt that emotion ... but instead she nailed her own race to a stopped, a determined frown crippled her face and the queen took a towering breath as she felt her hands smoke in the cold, eager to put an end to that danger ....

and then

She stopped.

Because she saw what the danger was.

Was it ... a salamander?

Well, a reptile anyway ... a very small reptile and certainly very fearful indeed. Its tiny little body was tense, forelegs open in a defensive stance, and a pair of terrified eyes looked around, only to become enraged as they saw her.

Her face softened as she slowly brought herself to sit on her knees, a hand stretched out in front of her as if to reassure the little creature. just for it to retreat, narrowed eyes and a killer look that led to a flame that came out of the salamander's mouth and crashed into a tree.

Oh no, don't fool me.

A movement of the hand and a snowball followed the flame, extinguishing it immediately on the branch where it had attached itself.

and that intrigued the little creature ... her hostile gaze relaxed, replaced by an expression she had never seen before: two large eyes of pure tenderness watching her with head tilted, slowly advancing towards her palm facing the high.

And when she came into contact with it, Elsa realized that the boil coming from the little body was clearly superior to the warmth of her husband's body. Sure, Axel had a naturally warm body temperature ... but that thing was steaming. When those paws touched his hand, immediately a puff of steam rose into the air "ow!" Elsa moved the little creature from one hand to the other to somehow lessen the boil on her cold hands ... but perhaps somehow the chill of being could serve to make that little devil simmer ... oh well: so be it !

"Well, I see that you have calmed down ..."

in response, it lay down on his hand and rolled into their palms. Elsa couldn't see behind her, but she could clearly see the Northultra's eyes fixed on the scene.

"They're watching us, aren't they?"

silence from the salamandrea "do you have any advice?"

... he licked one eye.

"... I should know what that means?"

Aaaah-Aaaah

The matter vanished as soon as the vocalization returned, after not being heard for hours ... where had it gone? was he waiting for the action scene to end before calling Elsa back to him? Even the salamander stretched its head in the same direction, an expression that would have been attributable to a smile. "you hear it too ..."

apparently...

"someone is calling us ..."

yes, but who?

what were they supposed to do?

The lizard jumped out of the queen's hands, climbing up the rock just before, observing her with large, curious eyes.

A deep breath.

"okay, let's continue north."

Or...not.

Something crashed into his back ... something impetuous that screeched his name.

The Queen just had time to bring her hands just above where two arms had just wrapped, losing her balance and regaining it only by planting her heels in the ground "ELSA!"

Anna kept her cheek pressed against her sister's shoulder, and her grip gave no sign of letting go.

"Anna- ?!"

The queen turned away taking her younger sister's arms off her shoulders to take her hands in hers "are you okay? Are you all okay?"

but Anna's expression changed quickly as she reached out to pull her ear, an expression of fury crossed her turquoise eyes "why did you jump into the fire ?! You have to stop letting us get these heart attacks!"

The queen closed one eye at that shrill tone, retreating into her shoulders with a hiss between her teeth as Anna's fingers twisted, sinking into her lobe, and pulling. "OW, CUT IT OU-"

"shut up! I didn't tell you to open your mouth!"

Elsa rolled her eyes, literally tugging her head to free herself from her sister's iron grip "Anna, I can take care of myself!"

"no! not at this moment, you are not cautious enough!" Anna exclaimed, fists clenched to her hips and trembling "... you ... you can't put yourself in danger like this." and the anger subsided exactly as that fire had done, seconds before.

Elsa looked down, her shoulders heaving in a sigh as she ran a hand over Anna's cheek to soothe her "I'm sorry ... Axel-?"

she nodded, without looking at her, however "I think he's fine ... but he'll surely be looking for you."

yeah ... husband / dad on the verge of hysterics? of course. "and are you okay?"

Anna's reply came without a word. The tawny girl looked down, not looking at her sister.

Removing her hands from his, Elsa pulled the embroidered fabric of their mother's scarf out of her sister's bag and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders, adjusting it and adjusting any wrinkles on the immaculate fabric of it. The queen smiled sweetly at her sister "here."

Anna's tense face immediately relaxed into an almost tired, but decidedly calmer expression as she clutched her scarf to her heart, smiling with nostalgia veiled in relief.

"better?"

"where did you get that scarf?"

Yelena's shocked voice interrupted the two sisters' moment of tenderness: Anna must have been driven there by the Northuldra after the fire had calmed down ... but there was no sign of Axel.

Elsa's heart skipped a beat, but before she could even look around for her husband's green eyes, two Northuldras approached "it's a Northuldra scarf!" Anna turned a quick glance at the scarf still placed on her shoulders, the girl with golden eyes passed a hand under it, intrigued ... a boy instead began to gently touch the fabric "this is from one of our oldest families."

Elsa looked down, hands now elegantly folded down while the Queen kept her eyes fixed ... Anna turned a confused look to her sister "it was mother's..." she murmured.

how did Iduna get a Northuldra scarf with her? His mother and father met after the mist fell on the forest, they met and fell in love in Arendelle ...

Or not?

The statue...

The lava statue ...

Elsa gasped as she grabbed her sister's hand, and without warning the two rushed off the slope. 

•••

and their race stopped, with their hearts in their throats, only when the statue, half frozen and half covered by magma, was in front of them.

The mysterious girl had her back to them, curly hair pushed to one side ... and the scarf she had placed on her small shoulders as a twelve-year-old had the same pattern as the one on Anna's shoulders.

Iduna.

Mother.

Mama.

Elsa felt faint, Anna's knees risked giving way as they got closer to the scene "Elsa ..." Anna's smile was slow, but a toothy smile.

The Queen reached out to Iduna's face, letting the back of her fingers drag the cold cheek of the solidified memory. "I see it. It's mother." Iduna.

Iduna had saved Agnarr that day, it was she who had sacrificed her life in the forest to save the life of the prince, who would be her future husband.

It was thanks to Iduna if Elsa and Anna existed ... it was thanks to Iduna if Elsa and Anna had found love ...

it was thanks to Mother.

The crowd had gathered, albeit at a respectful distance, around the two sisters and the statue, intrigued by the scene. Elsa also saw Kristoff, Axel, Olaf and Sven hurry to arrive. Kristoff and Axel tugged at each other, ordering each other to move on and then freezing when Elsa said : "our mother was Northuldra."

a chorus of confused murmurs spread among peoples, husbands, snowmen.

Iduna had been Northuldra.

Elsa and Anna were half Northuldra.

That child would have Northuldra blood in their veins.

Elsa and Anna had found a second home.


	9. Chapter 9

So, in summary: A Northuldra Mother-in-law they had never known and her heroic act of saving an Arendellian Father-in-law they had never known and that rescue was the reason why the women Lord Kristoff and King Axel loved were there and therefore would soon be there. was a partly Northuldra infant.

It was a lot of information.

Yet in a way, imagining a future where Agnarr wasn't saved by Iduna was the equivalent of living without the loves of their lives. if Anna hadn't existed, Kristoff would still lead a lonely and somewhat sad life. With only the company of a reindeer, a sled, ropes and picks. Without Elsa, Axel would have continued to move in the shadows like a silent killer, in his ruthless work and his cold ways. Nothing would have been the same for the two of them if Elsa and Anna didn't exist. After the initial riot everyone went to different places ... Elsa and Honeymaren secluded by a hearth, partly to keep her warm and partly to converse and although the King was reluctant to leave his wife alone with a stranger, realizing that everyone there was actually part of Elsa's family ... from Honeymaren to Ryder to Yelena was quite quick.

That was part of their heritage, part of who the two sisters were. half Arendelle, half Northuldra. Two peoples connected by love. Elsa had seemed quite worn out from that day in general, so it was good that she rested a little ... the King mentally sighed, knowing that he himself needed some rest. Axel had never been the kind of man who got tired easily, on the contrary: he was a very reactive person ... but when the fatigue clung to his limbs, his body would need a little to recharge. Not necessarily sleeping, just sitting down and having a moment of peace was enough. It was just what everyone had taken a moment to do. Kristoff was on his way into the forest with Ryder, Anna was conversing with Lieutenant Matthias ... and Axel was merely observing the surroundings with an attentive but not calculating gaze as in the past.

One leg stretched out in front of him, the other folded back on itself and the elbow of the same side of the body resting on his knee. The other hand sat on the ground and in all this the King kept his head tilted back, keeping his eyes closed for a few peaceful moments letting his breath be guided by the movement of his chest rather than his lungs. until a sound of tiny footsteps more like a rustle scraping through the leaves distracted him from that sort of limbo ... he would have expected a curious boy, a dog, a wild animal ... but two big round eyes that observed him closely at the space between his thumb and his index finger astonished him, since it was the salamander with which his wife had fought at least an hour ago and who was now observing the ruler of Arendelle with great curiosity mixed with a certain affection, although It did not know him.

"Uhm, hiya...?"

it was a bit as if that little creature had been flattered by the attention received, because it wagged its tiny tail and made a kind of purr-like sound. Instinctively, Axel turned the palm of his hand upwards and that little body rushed to sink the nose into his palm and roll on it like a cat would on a carpet. 

He raised an eyebrow, but couldn't help but smile. The King of Arendelle couldn't help but let out a chuckle as well "well, good evening to you too!" he exclaimed, stroking the little back of the fire spirit with the middle finger of his opposite hand and promptly the creature climbed on it using Axel's entire arm as a climbing path before reaching over his shoulder, and rubbing against the hollow of the King's jaw. The man rolled his eyes playfully muttering something along the lines of "Don Juan." Just as playfully the King of Arendelle waved the fingertips of his hand: a flame danced on them, crossing the entire length from the palm to the end, and then directed it towards the salamander on his shoulder.

"See? we're the same, you and I." But from the way Bruni snuggled up against his shoulder to sleep, Axel knew he didn't care that much. Tsk, as you please. placing the hand that had held him in his arms at his side, Axel let out a breath through his nose and ran a hand through his very red hair. And then- "Do you mind if I join you, Your Majesty?" Axel abruptly opened his eyes to find the figure of Yelena in front of him, watching him with open curiosity. The King cleared his throat "sure, take a seat."

Ignoring the fact that there were no actual seats, Yelena adjusted her gray tunic and crossed her legs sitting next to him but without looking at his face. "then, King Axel-" but he waved a hand over his head "We're not in Arendelle, here I am only Axel." and with a movement opposite to the top he brought his index finger to his temple, tapping it against it twice, turning a side look to Yelena "Got it memorized?"

Yelena blinked in his direction at that unruly and colloquial phrase (not that informal terms weren't typical of Axel.) "I have a good memory." he merely commented "so you're not from Arendelle." He shook his head, his thick fiery red hair more like a mane followed the movement with a certain majesty to them "nope! I'm from the south."

"You and the Queen, how long have you been married?" 

"Nearly three years." Instinctively he raised his left hand, holding it soft in front of him and observing the ornament he always wore and always would wear, the golden band that wrapped his ring finger. And a smile broke his face as he looked down at the ring ... a sweet, dreamy, and totally in love smile. Bruni was still sleeping peacefully on the King's shoulder, snoring a little. Axel tickled his paw using his forefinger

"This little guy is cool. Right, Bruni? Of course so, the coolest fire spirit of all!" As if he had known so many fire spirits ... he himself could define himself the personification of fire without too many words.

"What about _your_ powers? Do you know where they come from?"

Well, just like his wife (whose first sneeze caused a storm in Iduna's face). With the only difference that a newborn Axel's first sneeze had burned his father's mustache. The king of Arendelle shrugged, squinting and tilting his head to one side nonchalantly "I can command and manipulate fire, I use them for fighting."

Yelena raised an eyebrow "That's not fighting. That's relying." Axel abruptly took a breath from his nose in front of that tone that seemed purely as a mockery. That situation presented itself as an exponent of how a certain composure of a King made him straighten in the face of a similar tone. "You are young, you have time to improve your technique. In short, how old are you?" "twenty-six completed, on August 12th."

"You will learn to fight as you practice." she answered coldly. the unkind reply of the King did not arrive, because the earth began to tremble at that moment and from relaxed, Yelena's expression turned into alarm. A second thud, the earth shook again and from intrigued Axel found himself keeping both hands on the ground ready to give momentum in case he should get up suddenly.

"Earth giants."

...Earth _what ?!_

From relatively relaxed the King's posture changed immediately, looking around at once looking for Elsa with his eyes. He managed to spot Matthias and Anna, the alarms clear on their faces as they made their way down the mound to join the rest of the tribe. Axel got up in a hurry, Yelena's hand touched his back as the leader ran past him.

"Join the Queen, hide somewhere!" It was enough for him to look up for a moment to visualize figures more similar to mountains advancing, obscuring the moonlight with heavy and decisive steps without even looking down.

He felt his blood freeze with dread, and without even realizing that he still had Bruni on his shoulder he started running. With a quick movement of his hand directed from outside and with an arc moved towards his chest closing his hand into a fist, Axel pulled the flames of the hearth to him and put them out, surprising some Northuldra who were ready to put out all the fires with buckets of water. Some children let out little cries of half panic as Matthias directed them behind some baskets beckoning them to be quiet and then running to hide himself. He and Axel clapped each other on the shoulder in the passage as Axel sled behind a tree, his heart racing.

 _Why_ couldn't they have ten minutes of peace?

Being King often involved the presence of situations in which having a good dose of cold blood was essential; battles, dangerous or tense situations such as dealing with brazen missionaries with whom a steady hand to remind them _who_ is in charge is necessary. But _nothing_ had prepared him for this kind of danger, this kind of helplessness he felt in the face of something bigger than himself ... in knowing that the earth could shake so badly that he wouldn't be able to stop Elsa or his family from getting hurt. It was a devastating feeling.

" _rrrrm?_ "

_...Oh._

_Oh damn_.

Bruni was still on his shoulder: a deep wave of panic swept straight to his temples and his heart stalled for a moment as he flattened his back against the trunk.

"Little incendiary don't betray me now-"

" _Rrrmm!"_

_Gosh darn! _

A drop beaded his eyebrow as he squeezed his shoulders (damn! His shoulders were too wide not to be noticed behind that tree so small ... damn _you_ broad chest!) "ssssh!" he hissed at the fire spirit. "Bruni, go to _Elsa_!"

".. _.. rrrm?_ "

The little body of the reptile squeezed against the hollow of its neck ... it was evidently reluctant to abandon it to a very cruel fate (a death caused by crushing). being Axel seriously three seconds from a nervous breakdown, he knew he had no escape against those mountains. No dose of flames could ever tame those.

But Bruni was small, he would not have attracted attention.

"I'll be fine. But _please_ , find her."

The reptile's large, languid eyes looked at him illuminated by a light that made them even more tender. And he could see the despair in her eyes, the knowledge that he knew he couldn't protect her now, without risking putting their lives in danger. 

"Please."

And so Bruni took off.


	10. Chapter 10

The encounter with the wind?Normal.

The meeting with Bruni? terrifying.

And those things?

Where exactly did those things come from? Hidden behind a rock, Elsa tried to control her breathing dangerously quickened by a rush of fear. The kind of fear that grips your chest, squeezes your stomach and makes your legs shake. And it had happened so quickly, the mood had changed so quickly from one moment to the next. She was talking to Honeymaren about this and that, a reindeer foal resting on her legs and a hand stroking the animal's shaggy soft fur in a distracted way as Honeymaren pointed to more spots on Iduna's scarf ... and then the earth started shaking. And she hadn't had a chance to reach her family, she simply hid behind a rock, snuggling up on herself and keeping her head down.

_Inside and outside. Inside and outside... come on Elsa, breathe! It's a little early to focus on breathing, isn't it?_

_Well, it's good to start practicing!_

_oh, be quiet! you're not even showing yet!_

_well ... you're not all wrong._

_You say? it is already a lot if you are still alive, you have a dead luck!_

_Stop it! Let's go back to the plot!_

"rrrrm!"

. _.. Bruni?_

The Queen whipped her head to her right to meet two big eyes bright in the moonlight lying on the leaves next to her, a smirk on a tender face. The little lizard seemed delighted to have her attention, because at once he started hopping on the spot or moving on his paws with anticipation, and although he was small in that dead silence that noise was likely to be fatal. "Bruni ... what are you doing here? Go hide!" give orders to a spirit? Elsa, are you stupid or what? And in fact, as an answer, Bruni climbed onto her arm, snuggling up against her shoulder: the warm paws of the little guy scuffed on her bare shoulder as he took a turn to snuggle up and maybe get back to sleep. Getting back to sleep in a similar situation? Wow.

But now she didn't have time to worry about that little inconvenience. Now it mattered only to check the location of the giants, to make sure everyone else was safe and- _Axel_. The blood froze in her veins. Oh no. Where _was_ Axel?

She felt her breathing quicken immediately between tremors caused by the steps of the spirits of the earth and in the distance some people gasped to be silenced softly by Matthias or Yelena, or simply some other member of the tribe. Maybe he was hiding nearby and was fine.

 _OR_... or was dying on the ground, bleeding and mutilated by a hit from the giants, covered in blood, _killed_ -

A hand landed on her shoulder pulling her down from where she was standing (she leaned slightly from the rock behind which she had begun to observe the giants), and her back pressed against a familiar chest, but that touch at that moment was anything but delicate. It was firm and determined, almost as a reproach as he kept her anchored, Elsa looked around confusedly then lowered her gaze to a hand that wrapped her waist, a golden ring sparkled even in the dim light and an almost labored breathing above he raised and lowered her, making her swing in and then out with the movement of the chest against which she was leaning.

"Axel-?" The response was an abrupt ' _SSSH_!' From her husband, a tension in his limbs that only melted as those steps receded. Elsa could feel Axel's eyes throwing flames even though she wasn't looking at him "were you going to _follow_ them?!"

Elsa cringed at that stern tone, for it was so uncharacteristic of him. Every trace of his jovial tone disappeared from sight and senses. When the Queen turned her head to observe him, two hard, piercing green eyes greeted her "Maybe I can settle them as with the spirit of fire!" She tried to venture. "or you might get squashed before you get close!"

What she liked about Axel was the fact that he would never dare raise his voice with her.

 _Never_. Not even once.

Not even in this moment when he had risked losing her. He kept his tone sober and low, but still worried.

It had made him _worry_. The Queen and the King rose slowly, he helped her. His hand did not leave her waist for a second "Babe, I'm fine."

The Queen uttered, patting his arm softly, soothing. The King, whose fine eyebrows were arched down in a firm and proud expression of concern printed a somewhat stubborn air on the set of his jaw. "Hm." He muttered, eyes travelling far from her face. Elsa clearly understood what was on his mind: the fact that she was continuing to strain, and that at this stage one step too much could have been fatal. And she knew it was going through his head, because he had gone pale all of a sudden.

"... Axel. Are you okay?" He ran his free hand through his hair with a long breath "I'm fine."

The King was unwilling to risk it.

Not willing to risk losing Elsa or their baby.

 _Hell_ ... he would fight tooth and nail to keep them safe. But stressing her so much wasn't even an option ... and then being angry with that lovely face? The king sighed softly, giving her a kiss on the head "come here." in a low tone he pulled her to him in a hug "Els, please. No more crazy stunts."

"I'll...try."

And it didn't sound too much like a promise, but it was a start. For now, the King just held her close fearing that his beloved wife, his best friend, his lifeline, his everything, the mother of his son or daughter would slip away again into new danger. She could feel his hands shaking clearly. Very clearly, _too_ clearly. But it wasn't cold, it was that adrenaline rush that went away completely. Not so much that would make him drop to his knees, but almost.

"you're pale."

"It's just the light. Don't worry." No, damn the _hell_. It wasn't just the light. It was the desperate need to solve that mystery and get his family back home, all safe and sound. With the addition of some nerve loss, but relatively stable. But with the danger lurking everywhere, it now seemed impossible to keep safe with each other.

Bruni leaned over Elsa's shoulder. Had he been there all along? Ugh. Axel turned a half-murderous look at the lizard, whose languid eyes met his with innocence. The King sighed, stretching his index finger just above Elsa's shoulder so that Bruni could climb on it "well, at least you kept her safe ... little rascal." 

"let's say so." answered the queen, cuddling the small reptile's head. Well, the calm after the storm you will say. No, not _before_. Seriously, have you seen the narrow escape just gone through? Surviving in the enchanted forest should have a resume under 'work experience'. But this wasn't Arendelle. They weren't the palace walls, Kai and Gerda weren't there. The Fjord was far away, the castle seemed a distant memory ... and the paintings of Iduna and Agnarr now seemed to show only the young Northuldra girl who had married the prince, and who years before had saved him from certain death. In close parallel with the situation of the current sovereigns, with the only exception that the villager on duty had not saved the princess. The princess had saved him in every sense and in every way a person could be saved.

The goal was to find the voice and go home. No side streets.

Home.

The Queen removed her hands from around him, and her cold hand stopped right beside the warm fingers of his hand. Almost as if she were hesitating to sink her palm into his gloved one, almost as if she were afraid of making him tremble even more. "Hey." Axel was still looking away, not looking at her face ... No. It _wasn't_ like him. Axel looked everyone straight in the face, as if he were not afraid of being read in the eyes. And those very eyes were now lowered and sadly turned away. The same hand reached up to his face and gently touched his cheek, an infinite tenderness in her fingers. Those moments of sweetness were not uncommon, but usually it wasn't a consoling sweetness. Her other hand intertwined with his fingers and the hand on his face gently moved it in her direction "we have to hold out a little longer." The backs of her fingers slid down his cheekbone down to the edge of his mouth in a soothing motion, Elsa's eyebrows arched together in an expression of tenderness "Just a little more. Remember, we're doing this for the baby."

"I know." and he was tough in saying this. "But these dangers are greater than us ... what if we can't protect the kingdom-?" he swallowed empty, again a lighter pallor consumed the color from his cheeks. Elsa knew how to recognize a panic attack when she saw one. That wasn't it, but her husband and his more rag-like face were coming close to that. She grabbed both of his hands

"we'll find the voice. And we'll fix things. Okay?" She saw him close his eyes and straighten his shoulders albeit slightly. But he muttered an "Okay." immediately after. She gently ran her hands over his arms, then sliding them on his chest "I love you so much, you know?"

Of course he knew. He knew because he loved her with every fiber of his being. "and I love you, Elsa of Arendelle." After all, it was _love_ that thawed everything.

Splendid, love. Absolutely gorgeous and yet so painful at the same time ...

"we must continue north." Elsa's voice was a thoughtful whisper as he toyed with her braid. "I'm sure ... if we leave now we can have some advantage in getting somewhere at dawn." And that 'somewhere' could be anywhere. It could have been south, north ... east, west. They had no leads, they had no traces except the instinct of his wife and perhaps the alliance of the spirit of the wind. But for the rest? They were in a dead end.

"And where should we go?" Elsa bit her lower lip, rubbing her temple as if she was thinking "I don't know exactly .. but we can't stop now." In his heart Axel knew that they had to continue if they wanted to see the end of this story ... but if no one knew where to go and where they would go if they advanced north, maybe it was because those who had ventured there had never returned.

And perhaps by indulging the call they would meet an inauspicious fate ... maybe it was precisely it that was dragging them towards a horrible fate. torn to pieces by a bear, trampled to death or drowned as Iduna and Agnarr had drowned ... a thousand options, all ending with a grave. "Are you sure we have to move in that direction?" Firmly, the queen nodded vigorously. And the King, whose former fierce and ruthless temper seemed to be dwindling, rubbed the back of his head.

"Let's look for Anna and Kristoff, then."


End file.
